Never Let Go
by horseaholic
Summary: It's the continuation of Stephanie and Roger's and Mark and Jennifer's lives together, 12 years after The Perfect Fan ends. I'm surprised nobody guessed the ending!
1. Chapter 1

Standard disclaimers apply. Don't own it, willing to stage a coup. Oh, wait, I do now own the OBC Recording, the Original Motion Picture soundtrack (just got that in the mail this morning!), and I own sheet music of it (bought that on choir tour this past weekend; my family doesn't know yet, LOL, but they will soon!)

You can probably guess who Roger's manager is named after. That's all I'm gonna say. No spoilers in this author note for you! And I'm only borrowing a few quotes from the lovely J.K. Rowling, LOL. Enjoy.

"Roger, come on, you're gonna be late!" Stephanie yelled up the stairs at her husband.

"I'm coming!" Roger yelled back, and he appeared at the top of the stairs. Instead of wasting a little energy going down them, he slid down the banister, facing forward, and he jumped off and plowed into Stephanie at the base, ending in a hug.

"Roger, you are such a kid!" Stephanie scoffed, but she was smiling, pleased.

"Ah, but I never stop having fun, do I?" Roger asked her, grinning like a maniac.

"No, I guess not," Stephanie said, giving him a firm, swift kiss. "Now come on, let's go!"

"All right, all right," Roger said, and he went into the living room to grab his duffle bag.

"Boys, take care of your sister, OK?" Stephanie called, and Collin and Caleb came out of the kitchen. Stephanie sighed as she looked from one twin to the other. Identical down to the last freckle, even at 13 years old, she could never tell them apart. Roger, however, never had this problem. "Caleb, take care of your sister while we're gone, OK? Your dad's gonna be late for rehearsal— again," she added, frustrated.

"He's not Caleb, I am!" the twin on the right said, pointing to the twin on the left.

"Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother?" the twin on the left asked incredulously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Collin," Stephanie apologized wearily, and she stepped outside.

"Only joking," the twin on the right said, "I am Collin." And after flashing her identical evil grins, they shut the door.

Stephanie turned to Roger with her hands on her hips and gave him a look. "Should we even start placing blame on who has corrupted them the most?" Stephanie asked, looking up at him as they walked to the car together.

"No, Baby, because you were just yelling at me for being late, and you never yell, unless it's really important, or you're really mad," Roger said, climbing into the car. "Let's go. I have a surprise for you when we get there— two surprises, actually."

"You do, huh?" Stephanie asked, as they started to drive off. She smiled at him. "I can't wait."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Johnny," Roger said, walking into the recording studio with Stephanie.

"It's OK," Johnny said. "Was it the twins again?"

"Sort of," Roger said, laughing.

"What did they do this time?" Johnny asked.

"Their famous identical hold-up," Roger replied, grinning. "If I had been there, Stephanie wouldn't have had trouble; but they caught her alone, as usual, and knew they could get away with it."

Johnny laughed. "Well, I'll let it go this time, since you're so good for us. But tell them Johnny says to watch their antics next time."

"OK, I will," Roger said, smiling. "So what are we doing today?"

"That surprise of yours," Johnny said.

"Oh, right!" Roger said, smacking his forehead. "Sorry, I forgot; professionalism took over, I guess." He turned to Stephanie and handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Stephanie asked, looking from him to the paper.

"Read it," Roger said, smiling mischievously at her.

Stephanie read it and looked up at him, surprised. "It's lyrics," she said. "You wrote another song? But you can't sing all of this by yourself. It looks like it needs at least a company of five or six by the end. But…" She looked at him. "What is this for?"

"I want you to sing with me," Roger said, smiling at her.

Stephanie's eyebrows shot up. "You— you do?" she asked. "But— but I don't sing, Rog." He grinned at her again and her eyes widened. "I don't!" she insisted.

"Oh, come on, Baby," Roger pleaded with her. "I've heard you sing in the shower every morning, and you're good. I even snuck in and recorded you once and you didn't know it. It was only a five-dollar recorder, but Johnny loved you, anyway. He agrees with me," Roger looked at Johnny for verification of this, "right?"

Johnny nodded. "Right," he said. "Steph, you really are good. I realize you have some nerve issues—"

"Major, major nerve issues," Stephanie emphasized for him.

"Right; I realize you have some 'major, major' nerve issues to work out, but that will come with time. And besides, you'll be singing with Roger. If you're not comfortable with singing with him, then you don't have to do it. But at least give it a try here in the studio with just me for an audience, OK?"

Stephanie surveyed Johnny's warm smile cautiously. "Oh, OK," she said, and then she sighed. "All right, I'll try it. You want us to sing right now?"

"Sure, why not?" Johnny said, and Stephanie and Roger went into the recording room. They waited for the go-ahead from Johnny, and then Charlie, DJ, and Tommy started playing. Stephanie's line came and she started to sing the beginning.

"_Like a breath of midnight air,_" Stephanie sang. "_Like a lighthouse, like a prayer._"

"_Like the flicker and the flare, the sky reveals_," Roger sang.

They looked into each other's eyes and sang together, "_Like the walk along the shore that you've walked a thousand times before, like the ocean's roar… love heals_."

They stopped singing and looked at Johnny. He was clapping, but they couldn't hear it in the soundproof room. "That was awesome, you guys," he said into the microphone outside the room. "That was very impressive, Stephanie. You didn't seem nervous at all."

"I wasn't… really…" Stephanie replied hesitantly into the microphone. "I got lost in Roger's eyes and glanced down at the music every once in a while… and it kind of just rolled."

"That's excellent," Johnny said. "See, I told you, Roger helps."

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, he does," she said.

"Do you want to go through the whole thing once, and see how far we get?" Roger asked Johnny.

"Yeah," Johnny replied, smiling at Roger.

"But Johnny," Stephanie began, "this song requires more than just us. It looks like it needs at least three to six more people. How are we gonna get more band members? We could hold auditions, but that would take days…"

"Roger already has that figured out," Johnny said.

Stephanie turned to Roger. "You do, huh?" she asked him, giving him a suspicious look.

"Yeah," Roger said simply. "Baby, you're thinking too hard about all this. Don't strain yourself."

Stephanie whacked him playfully. "What are you talking about, Roger?" she asked.

"Well, we need three to six more voices, right?" Roger asked. Stephanie nodded. "Why audition when we have those voices right here at home? Glory and the boys are all enrolled in choir by their father's orders, and they're all good; and I'm sure Mo, Jo, and Mark would be more than willing to lend us their voices, too. That would work perfectly for the end. I already asked Johnny and he's all for it. We could all do it as a family thing. Isn't that great?"

Stephanie was rather surprised. After a few long moments of speechlessness, she spoke. "Yeah, it is a pretty good idea," she said. "In fact, it's brilliant. OK, I say we go for it."

"Great," Johnny said, clapping his hands together. "All right, so I'll give you a couple days to let your family know, and then you can all come in and record. IF it tanks, it tanks; if it doesn't, we get your kids tutors and you go on tour for 12 weeks to promote it as a new single."

"OK," Roger said, "as long as the kids don't miss school. Glory's just starting high school and Aida and the boys are just starting junior high. Missing school would be really difficult for them."

"I understand," Johnny said. "The tutors will keep them going at an even quicker rate than publicly or privately schooled kids, since their schooling will be shorter and more complex. But they won't get behind— in fact, it may be better for them that way."

"OK," Roger said, and he and Stephanie came out, he shook Johnny's hand, and they left.

OK, so I realize that the cast of Rent sings Love Heals on the soundtrack, but I thought it seemed like the perfect Rent song for Roger and Stephanie to do for the family idea that was Stephanie's surprise. I'll update ASAP.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	2. Chapter 2

Finally thought of a title! YAY! LOL.

See if you can guess where Glory's object of affection's name comes from. If you can't guess, I'll tell you in the A/N of the next chapter, whenever I put that up. Oh, and just to clear things up, Glory is 15, Aida is 14, and Caleb and Collin are 13. Enjoy.

"You guys, we have an announcement to make," Stephanie said, looking at her family and fellow Bohemians at dinner that evening. She waited until everyone was quiet. "Roger and I demoed a new song today at his rehearsal and we really like it. It's called _Love Heals _and it's really sweet. It needs a group of at least three to six more voices in the end for the shout chorus." She looked around at her family and fellow Bohemians. "We were hoping we could all do it together, as a family. What do you guys think?"

Maureen and Joanne looked at each other and smiled. "We think it's great," Joanne said.

"OK, and what do you, Jen, and Aida think, Mark?" Stephanie asked, looking at him.

Mark looked at Aida and Jennifer and both women nodded approvingly. "We're in," he said.

"OK, so last, but certainly not least," Stephanie said, turning to face Glory and the boys, "are you three in for it?"

Glory looked around and was met by two identical expectant looks. She bit her lip. "Oh… um… I dunno…" she said hesitantly. "You're sure we won't get behind in school and everything?"

"Glory, you get straight A's, no problem," Collin said, giving her a look. "Since when have you been worried about grades? Now, Caleb and I, on the other hand… not so much." He grinned at her.

"Yeah, but… I dunno… can I think about it for a while?" Glory asked, looking up at them.

"Sure," Stephanie said. "We have to tell Johnny by the end of the week, at the latest, though."

"OK," Glory said, nodding, and she smiled at her mother.

* * *

"Hey, Glory, wait up," said a familiar voice.

Glory turned around and saw Aida running up to her. "Hey," she said, "what's up?"

"My friend wants to talk to you," Aida said, as she walked alongside Glory.

"Your friend," Glory asked, confused, "your friend, who?"

"His name is Coleridge Bennett, but we just call him Cole. He's a junior."

Glory looked up at Aida. "Cole Bennett, as in, the junior varsity football captain?" she asked. "Why does he want to talk to me?"

"I don't know," Aida said, smiling suspiciously, "but I'd jump at the chance if I were you. He's really cute."

"Oh… OK," Glory said. "I'll talk to him. What classes does he have?"

"Biology, P.E., History, and Language," Aida replied. She grinned mischievously. "You're so lucky."

Glory chuckled. "Maybe," she said. "Come on, we have to get to Science."

"OK, I'm coming," Aida said, and she followed Glory down the hall.

* * *

Glory waited outside Cole's language class after school for Cole to come out. She and Aida had checked out his yearbook picture, so she knew who to look for. She spotted him and followed him to his locker, and when she saw he was about ready to leave, she walked up to him. Her heart was pounding; Aida had been right. He was really cute. He had straight brown hair, bleached blonde, that flopped over his eyes just right and piercing blue eyes. To her, he was perfect.

"Hi," she said to him, and he looked up from putting his books in his backpack.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her. She noticed his teeth were perfect, too. "You're Glory Davis, right?"

"The one and only," Glory said. "I know who you are, of course. Cole Bennett."

"Yep, I am," Cole said, looking down at her as he closed his locker and swung his backpack onto his shoulders. "Why are you talking to me?"

"I'm friends with Aida Cohen," Glory said. "She's actually almost my cousin."

Cole looked genuinely interested. "Yeah, she's a good friend of mine," he said. "I take it she told you I wanted to talk to you?"

"Yep," said Glory.

"What do you mean, you're, um, 'almost' cousins?" Cole asked.

"Her dad and my dad were roommates back in high school and, um, after," Glory replied, not feeling quite ready to tell him her father's entire life story just yet. "They've known each other since preschool. It's, um, a long story."

"Oh, OK," Cole said. "I've heard a lot about them from Aida, actually. Her dad made that film about the, um…"

"Bohemians," Glory finished for him, laughing.

"Yeah," Cole said, "and your dad hit it big with that song about a girl's eyes, right?"

"Yeah, he did," Glory said. "Her name was Mimi Marquez. She was his girlfriend, an S&M dancer at the Cat Scratch Club."

Cole's eyebrows rose. "What happened to her?" Cole asked, as they began to walk down the hall toward the doors.

"She died of a heroin overdose," Glory said.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Was she your—?"

"Mom?" Glory asked him. "No, my mom is Stephanie Davis."

"Oh, OK," Cole said, "just wondering." He looked suddenly embarrassed.

"It's OK, Cole," Glory reassured him, chuckling, "I get questions like that all the time."

Cole nodded. "OK, just making sure. Hey," he said, as they walked outside, "would you like me to walk you home?"

"Sure, that would be nice," Glory said, smiling up at him.

"OK, cool," Cole said. Glory looked over her shoulder and waved and grinned at Aida as she walked away with Cole.

* * *

Glory and Cole arrived at the Davis manor about fifteen minutes later. Without really thinking, Cole took a deep breath, his hands shaking, and he leaned down and kissed her gently.

"What was that for?" Glory asked, looking up at him, confused, after they parted.

"I've wanted to do that for weeks," Cole said, smiling down at her.

"Oh, OK," Glory said, smiling back at him.

"Glory, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What?"

"Will you, um, be my girlfriend? I mean, I know it's, like, not cool for upperclassmen to be with underclassmen like this, but you're... different and I think I could look past that."

Glory smiled. "Sure."

"OK, great," Cole said, sighing with relief. "Wow, am I glad I got that out of the way?"

Glory laughed. "So am I, Cole," she said, grinning at him.

"So, um, I'll call you and, um, we can see what we can do this weekend?"

"Sure, that would be cool," Glory said. "So you're my boyfriend now?"

"Yeah," Cole said, smiling down at her. "May I kiss you again?"

"Sure," Glory said. "You're my boyfriend now; you can do that anytime you want."

Cole laughed. "Well, cool," he said, and they kissed again.

"Well, I'd better go, Tiger," Glory whispered, looking up at him, their faces inches apart.

"OK," Cole said reluctantly. "I'll see you tomorrow, and then we'll talk about something to do this weekend?"

"We will," Cole said, nodding, and Glory went inside. She tried to shut the door quietly, so as not to let anyone know she was home yet, but—

* * *

"Who was that boy?" Stephanie asked, sitting on the entryway stairs.

Glory jumped and whirled around. "Huh? Oh… hi, Mom… that was just… he's Cole Bennett… my, um... my boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend?" Stephanie asked, surprised. She raised her eyebrows. "I see. When did this happen and why wasn't your father or I informed?" She didn't seem angry; she just simply seemed curious.

"Um, this afternoon," Glory replied. "Aida told me he's wanted to talk to me for a while now. He did and he asked me out and I said yes to a date on Friday night."

"Friday night?" Stephanie asked. "But that's when we have to give Johnny his answer to whether we'll tour or not, remember?"

"Oh. No, I didn't remember," Glory said honestly. "Sorry, Mom. I guess Cole kind of drive that out of mind. Do I have to go? I mean, you've got Uncle Mark and Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne already. Isn't that enough voices? I don't want to get taken out of school. That isn't fair and you know it."

"Well, yes and no," Stephanie said. "They aren't my flesh and blood, Glory. I wanted this to be a special thing for all of us, not just your brothers."

"But Mom, I want to be with Cole," Glory pleaded with her. "Please at least let us go on one date first."

"Glory, this is your dad's career," Stephanie began, but Glory cut her off, swiftly changing the subject.

"Mom, you have to meet him, please? If you and Dad don't like him, I'll go on tour; but if you do, I get to stay."

"Glory, it's not up to you to decide whether or not you go on tour," Stephanie said. "We need you to make this work, and since you're not 18 yet, your dad and I get to make the decision."

"Decision about what?" Roger asked, appearing at the top of the stairs. Glory looked from her mother to him and she ran up the stairs past her father, and to her room. Stephanie went up to the stairs to Roger as the door slammed and she flinched. "What was that about?" He took her into his arms lovingly.

"Glory has met a boy and as a result, she doesn't want to go on tour," Stephanie replied.

Roger looked surprised. "She has?" he asked. "And I haven't gotten to meet the guy yet?"

"Well, they only got together this afternoon," Stephanie said. "But we can't have her stay home from tour, can we?"

"Well…"

Stephanie looked up at him. "Well, what?"

"She actually could… we'd just have to pre-record her voice. That could work."

Stephanie sighed. "How come I never thought of that?" she asked.

"Because it isn't your job to think of it," Roger replied simply, smiling down at her. "Don't worry, I'll talk to the boys and Johnny about it, too, since I know that was what you were about to say."

Stephanie smiled and sank into him. He gently massaged her shoulders, which were tense from stress. "OK," she said, "you talk to Johnny. But I really did want this to work."

"Well, maybe it can't yet," Roger said, shrugging and giving her a sympathetic look, "at least until Glory and the boys have graduated. Then maybe we'll give it a shot. How about that? I'm sure the Bohemians will be accepting of that; especially Maureen and Joanne, since they want to start their own family soon."

"Of course they will," Stephanie said, "they always are. OK, OK, we'll talk to Johnny. Can you try talking to Glory, though? She won't listen to me right now."

"Sure," Roger said, leaning down to kiss Stephanie one last time before going down the hall to Glory's room. "Glory," he said, knocking on her door, "open up, please. It's Dad."

"Go away, Dad," Glory said. "I don't want to talk to you."

"We need to talk, Glory," Roger said seriously, but she still didn't open the door. "Glory, open up, please. You don't have to go on tour."

A moment later, the door opened. Glory looked up at her father, surprised. "I don't?" she asked.

"No, you don't," Roger said. "If school and boys are what you're concerned about"— he smiled at the look on her face, knowing he'd hit his mark, from what Stephanie had told him a few minutes ago— "then you don't have to go on tour. Neither do Aida or the boys. We can just pre-record your voice and play a tape or something at concerts. People even more famous than me do that all the time. It's easy and only takes a few hours at the most, depending how many takes we have to do."

Glory nodded. "OK," she said, "then that's what I want to do. Please try to understand."

"Oh, I do," Roger assured her, "don't worry. Your mom's just disappointed, that's all."

Glory nodded again. "I know," she said. "How can I make it up to her?"

Roger thought about that for a moment. "I think I have an idea," he said. "We're touring for twelve weeks, and judging by my schedule, our last performance is in the city. How about, in order to make it up to her, you perform your part with your own voice on the last performance, just for her?"

Glory nodded. "OK," she said, "I'll do that." She smiled up at her father. "Thanks, Dad."

"No problem, princess," Roger said, pulling her into a hug.

This chapter is a lot less dramatic than its first draft, LOL. I hope this version is satisfactory, though. And by the way, broadwaylover07, I think you're gonna have to be disappointed; since I made this story ten years later than its parent, Mark and Jennifer aren't going to have any more kids. I think trying to get Aida caused them enough stress and grief, what with the miscarriage and all, don't you? But my mind is made up, sorry.

Don't forget to review.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	3. Chapter 3

Cole's last name, Bennett, is from Charmed. If you guessed that, congratulations. If you didn't, yay for me!!

On Friday night, Cole walked up to the front door of the Davis manor and knocked. Roger answered.

"Hi, you must be Mr. Davis," Cole said, and he held out his hand, which Roger shook. Roger nodded. "I'm Cole Bennett. Is Glory ready to go?"

"Almost," Roger said. "Come in and sit down, Cole."

"OK. Thanks, Mr. Davis," Cole said, smiling at him.

They went into the living room and sat down across from each other. "So tell me about yourself," Roger said to him, looking over at Cole.

Cole thought for a moment what he could say. "Well… I'm the captain of the junior varsity football team, um, I get good grades, um… what do you want to know?"

"What's the first thing you noticed about my daughter that interested you the most?"

"Her eyes and smile," Cole said, "and her red hair is pretty hard to miss, too."

Roger nodded as Stephanie came downstairs to the living room. "Hey, Cole," she said, coming over and sitting on Roger's lap. "Is my Baby psyching you out?"

Cole laughed. "No, not really, Mrs. Davis," he replied. "I understand why he would want to ask questions."

"OK, well, if he bugs you too much, just let me know, OK? And please, call me Stephanie." Stephanie smiled at him. Roger, on the other hand, didn't look like he was quite willing to give the boy that chance yet.

"OK, thank you, Stephanie," Cole said, as Stephanie got up and went out to the bottom of the stairs.

"Glory, don't keep the boy in suspense too much longer!" she yelled up the stairs.

"I'm coming!" Glory yelled back, and she appeared at the top of the stairs. She was about to bolt down the stairs, but she caught her mother's signal to slow down, and she walked instead. Stephanie smiled down at her as Glory walked into the room. "Hi, Cole."

Cole looked around and grinned. "Hey," he said, "you look great. Are you ready to go?"

"I sure am," Glory replied, smiling at him as she took his hand. "You look great, too."

"Hang on, you two," Roger interrupted. "I'm not done yet."

Glory chuckled nervously and gave Cole what she hoped was an apologetic look. "I can't help you," she whispered to him, grimacing for effect. "I have no idea what he's about to do, but I do know that he's gonna do it to every guy I date."

Cole chuckled inaudibly. "I think I'll manage," he whispered back.

"OK, I've got more questions," Roger began, "so please try to understand. If they are simply too personal, you're welcome to pass, but I'm gonna ask them anyway. Are you a virgin?"

Glory blushed scarlet, but Cole didn't seem phased. "Yes, sir," he said unblushingly.

"OK," Roger said, avoiding Glory and Stephanie's glares. "See, that was easy. Do you smoke?" Cole shook his head. "Do you drink?" Cole shook his head again. "Have you ever done any illegal substances?" Cole shook his head a third time. "Do you have a job?"

"Yes," Cole said. "I actually work at the Life Café every other weekend, and on most holidays."

Glory's mouth fell open. "You're kidding?" she asked.

Cole looked at her. "No, why?" he asked.

"Well, because my family and I go there all the time," Glory said. "That's really cool, Cole." After smiling at Cole again, she gave her a father a look, as if daring him to go on, now that she'd approved of Cole even more.

"Do you live on your own?" Roger asked, bringing Cole's attention back to him. He ignored Glory rolling her eyes and her exasperated sigh.

"No, I live with my parents and my little sister and brother, Grace and Connor," Cole said. "They're twins, actually, both in fourth grade."

"Cool," Roger said. "What kind of car do you drive?"

"Dad," Glory protested, "you're gonna make us late for the movie."

"Don't worry, Glory," Cole said, "we'll get to our movie on time."

"OK," Roger said. Stephanie gave him a look. "What?" he asked innocently, looking down at her and he grinned at Cole and Glory. "I only want to know what these two are planning on doing tonight. She has to be back by eleven, Cole."

"OK, Mr. Davis," Cole said. "We're going to _Finding Neverland_. It should be over in time for me to get her home on time. Any more questions, Mr. Davis?"

"I don't think so, Cole," Roger said, finally smiling at Cole. "Thanks for putting up with me. You two can go now."

"Have fun, you two," Stephanie said, smiling at them as she leaned on Roger's arm.

"We will, Stephanie," Cole said. "See you at eleven. Bye, Mr. Davis."

"Bye, Cole," Roger said, and the couple went out the door.

"Well, he seemed pretty decent," Stephanie said, smiling up at Roger.

Roger shrugged. "I'm reserving my judgment," he said simply.

"Oh, you…" Stephanie said, frowning at him. "I think they'll have a fun time."

"Yeah," Roger gave in, sighing.

* * *

On their way to the car, Glory and Cole were met by the twins, who had been out playing basketball in the driveway. They crossed their arms over their chests and stood in front of Glory and Cole.

"Don't do anything Mommy and Daddy wouldn't approve of at the movie," the twin on the left said in a sing-song voice.

"Yeah, you touch her where she doesn't wanna be touched, and we'll castrate you with a spoon," the twin on the right said fiercely, raising his eyebrows.

Cole looked surprised. Glory was blushing scarlet. "Caleb, Collin, stop it right now," she said firmly, scowling at them. "You're gonna make us late for the movie. Don't think you're intimidating Cole. He's the JV football captain for a reason."

Cole leaned over to her and whispered, "Which one's which?"

"Caleb's on the left, Collin's on the right," Glory said, glaring at the twins. By the surprised looks on their faces, she could tell she was right. "You two can't pull that on me, like you do to Mom. I was forced to grow up with you tagging along everywhere. Now go away so we can leave."

Glory turned around and walked toward the car with Cole. She went around to the passenger side and Cole opened the door for her. "Thanks," she said, climbing in, and he got in as well.

"Be careful, kids!" Collin yelled, loud enough for them to hear.

"Love you, sugar plum!" Caleb yelled as well, in a high-pitched voice, and they collapsed into evil giggles and went back to their game, as Cole and Glory drove away.

"Honestly, I hate those two," Glory said, scowling in frustration.

Cole chuckled. "I thought they were funny," he said honestly.

"They threatened to castrate you!" Glory exclaimed, looking over at him. "They were probably kidding, but with those two, you can never know... they're pretty bad with their practical jokes..."

"Yeah, well, they're just protective of you, that's all," Cole said, smiling at her. "I don't mind, honest."

"OK, that's good," Glory said.

"I liked your parents, too; your dad wasn't so bad, and your mom was really cool. She seems very contemporary."

"Yeah, she's cool like that," Glory said. "That's what makes her so easy to get along with most of the time."

"Oh, OK," Cole said, smiling at Glory, and they went into the theater together.

* * *

"That was a great movie," Glory said, as they came out of the theater, their arms around each others' waists. "But hey, I love Johnny Depp, so…"

"Yeah, it was pretty good," Cole agreed. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I figured you would like it."

"So you're picking next time," Glory said.

"I am?" Cole asked her. "But I'm OK with whatever you pick."

"Yeah, but if I get to pick all the time, it won't be fair," Glory said.

"Oh, all right," Cole said. "I'll pick next time. Now come on, I have to get you home."

"Yeah, you do," Glory said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him.

* * *

"So how are you and Cole doing?" Aida asked, a few weeks later.

"We're doing well," Glory replied. "We've gone on three dates already."

"Cool," Aida said. "So are you glad I introduced him to you?"

"You?" Glory countered. "Thank you very much, dear cousin, but I introduced myself."

Aida laughed. "OK, OK," she surrendered, "but I helped."

Glory nodded. "Yeah, you did. Thanks," she said, giving Aida a playful shove.

* * *

"Hey, Baby," Cole said, coming up behind Glory and putting his arms around her waist.

"Hey yourself," Glory replied. Then she realized what he had said. "Hey, did you just call me…?"

"Baby, yeah," Cole said. He looked down at her. "Isn't that OK?"

"Well… no," Glory said to him, and he could tell she was upset. "I just… I don't know if I'm… ready for that yet."

Cole looked down at her, confused. "You don't want me to call you 'Baby'?" Glory shook her head. "OK, I won't. I'm sorry, Glory, I didn't know it would upset you like that."

Glory nodded and pulled away from him. "I have to get to class," she said, shouldering her backpack and she walked away.

Cole turned and looked at Aida, confused and upset. "Um, what did I do? I didn't know she was so… is sensitive the right word?"

Aida shrugged. "She's just nervous," she said. "I mean, look at you, Cole. You're the JV football captain and _the_ most popular and sought-after guys in the school. Glory's used to being pretty much on her own. Now she's suddenly gained your affections, and I think you may be rushing it a little." Aida smiled encouragingly up at him. "She's probably just overwhelmed. Give her until tonight to think this over, and then call her and see if she'll talk about it, OK?"

Cole sighed. "OK," he said, "I just don't know what I've done wrong. I hope she'll tell me."

Aida nodded. "She will," she said, and they parted ways.

* * *

The phone ringing startled Glory out of her thoughts later that evening. She picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Glory, it's Cole," Cole said. "I looked up your number; I hope you don't mind. Can we talk?"

"Oh— hi— um, I don't know, I'm actually kind of… OK, yeah, we can talk," Glory said hesitantly.

"OK. But if you're busy, I can always call back."

"No, it's fine. What did you need?"

"I wanted to know what I did wrong over lunch hour today. You talk, I'll listen, OK?"

"Well… there isn't really much to say about today, Cole… All I have to say is, I think we're jumping into this too fast… I mean, you are only my first boyfriend, you know… it's not that I don't appreciate all you've been doing for me and everything, that's all really great, but… I just think the bottom line is, we're rushing it. I want to take things slower, OK?"

Cole sighed. "OK," he said, "we'll take it slower. You tell me when I do something you don't want me to, OK? I didn't realize I was pushing you. I guess I'm not used to taking it slow. But I can change that."

"It's OK," Glory said. "Thanks, Cole."

"No problem, sweetie," Cole said. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You will. Bye, Cole."

Glory hung up and sank back onto the couch, her mind buzzing.

I have to thank my friend Brianna for making up the Caleb and Collin lines for me. You rock, chica! Chapter four will probably be up by tomorrow. No promises, though; I'm in my last few days of school, so things will be hectic until next Thursday, my first day of summer!

Don't forget to review.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Glory," Cole said, coming up to her at her last-period class after school, on their four-month anniversary.

"Hi, Cole," Glory said, smiling up at him. "How was your day?"

"It was good," Cole said, as he put his arm around her. "I missed you, though."

"I missed you, too," Glory said. "So where's this 'surprise' you've been texting me about all day?"

"You'll see," Cole said, smiling at her.

They walked over to Aida, who was standing by Caleb and Collin in the hall. "Hey, guys," Glory said. She gave her brother a look. He didn't flinch. "Are you guys ready to go home? Cole and I are driving you, and then he and I are leaving."

"Sure," the twins said, and they walked away. Caleb put his arm around Aida's waist and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Glory turned to Cole. "How come we didn't see that before? Aida's my best friend— how could I miss her and Caleb?"

"I dunno, sweetie," Cole said. "You've been hanging out with me a lot more; maybe she felt left out and decided to take a chance with Caleb?"

Glory nodded. "That's OK and everything," she said. "I'm just surprised, that's all." She looked over at Aida and Caleb again. "I'm gonna talk to her."

"Why?" Cole asked. "It's her choice, and she seems happy with Caleb. If I can hazard a guess, I think he's the quieter of the two."

"Yeah, but she's still our cousin!" Glory hissed.

"Not exactly," Cole said. "You said so yourself, your dad and Mark were only roommates. They aren't blood related, so neither are you and Aida. It really could work out."

Glory glared at him. She began to walk toward Aida and Caleb, but Cole stopped her.

"Glory, stop," he said. He looked down at her through his piercing blue eyes. "Just leave it alone, OK? When Aida and Caleb are ready to tell us about it, they will."

Glory sighed. "OK, OK, I won't interfere. Can we go now?"

"Yes, we can go now," Cole said, smiling down at her, and Glory followed Cole to his surprise.

* * *

"Cole, where are we going?" Glory asked, confused, as he led her out of his car, holding both her hands. He had blindfolded her as a game before they had left the school. Now she was being forced to follow him as he led her somewhere unknown.

"OK, stop, Glory," Cole said, and she obeyed. "There's a bench behind you. Sit down." Glory did as she was told and Cole let go of her hands. They were in Tompkin Square Park for Cole's surprise.

"Cole, what's going on?" she asked nervously.

"I'll be right back," Cole assumed her, squeezing her hands. "Just stay there, OK?"

"OK," Glory said, biting her lip.

"Don't take off the blindfold."

"_OK_, already," Glory answered firmly. "Hurry up, will you?"

"I will," Cole said, and he went back to his car. He pulled a quilt and a small basket out of the trunk and went back over to Glory. He unfolded the blanket and spread it out and distributed the food across it, leaving enough room for him and Glory to sit across each other. Then he went back over to Glory.

"OK, you can take your blindfold off now," Cole said to her. Glory did and he smiled at her reaction.

"Oh my gosh, Cole," she said, clapping her hands over her mouth, "this is wonderful. When did you get time to do this?"

"Lunch hour," Cole replied, laughing.

"Oh," Glory said, looking at him keenly. "So that's why you weren't around."

Cole nodded. "Come on, let's eat," he said, and they sat down together.

After they finished eating, Cole put the basket aside and lay down on the blanket. He smiled when, a moment later, Glory joined him. They lay there for the rest of the afternoon, watching the clouds go by and pointing out shapes. Cole looked down at Glory and realized something.

"Glory," he said, "I have to tell you something."

Glory looked up at him. "What?" she asked.

"I… I love you." It was slightly hesitant, but Glory could tell he was for real.

"You what?"

"I love you." It was stronger this time, so Glory knew he really meant it.

Glory smiled and sighed happily. "I love you, too, Cole," she said, and she snuggled herself closer to him.

_It's really good to hear your voice say my name  
It sounds so sweet  
Coming from the lips of an angel  
Hearing those words it makes me weak  
And I never wanna say goodbye_

* * *

Cole didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up several hours later, and it was pitch-black. He gently shook Glory. "Glory, wake up, sweetie," he said.

Glory groaned and stirred. "Cole?" she asked. "What time is it?"

Cole checked his watch. "Shit," he said, "it's 11:30."

Glory sat up sharply. "_11:30_?" she echoed, stunned. "Oh man… I'm sorry, Cole, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's not your fault, honey," Cole said. "I should have set the alarm on my watch or something. Come on, let's get you home, or your dad will kill me."

"OK," Glory said, and they went to the car.

* * *

Roger paced around the kitchen floor, his mind racing. "Where could they be?" he asked Stephanie, who was leaning against the countertop. "Do you think something happened to them?"

"Baby, you know they hang out together after school every day," Stephanie said. "I'm sure nothing happened to them."

"But Baby, it's 11:40. Cole always has Glory home by 11," Roger said. "This is the first time this has ever happened."

"Baby, listen to yourself," Stephanie said. "Think about what you just said. It's the _first time _it's ever happened. They probably just hit traffic or something."

"At a quarter to Midnight?" Roger countered. "Now come on, even in New York, that's not possible…"

Stephanie let out a loud groan of frustration. "Oh, I don't know," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Just give them a few more minutes of leeway and see if they turn up. If they don't, then we'll go looking for them."

The twins came down from their room and Stephanie and Roger turned around, thinking it possibly was Glory and that they'd missed her arrive home in the first place. "Where have you…?"— Roger began, but then he realized who it was— "oh… hi, boys."

"What's going on?" Caleb asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Glory's still not home," Roger said. "I'm gonna give that boy ten more seconds, and then I'm…"

"You're not doing anything," Stephanie interrupted him. "You're doing exactly what we just talked about, and waiting."

Roger glared at her. "Fine," he said, and he stomped over to the living room and sank into a chair.

The front door opened and Stephanie turned around again. Glory walked in, looking tired, with Cole. "Where have you two been?" Stephanie asked.

"Sorry, Stephanie," Cole said. "We were in the park, having a picnic, and once it got dark, we just kind of just… fell asleep."

"We were worried sick about you," Stephanie said sharply. "It's New York, Cole; you can't expect us to think you're safe and sound out there when you're not back here by curfew!"

"Mom, he's telling the truth!" Glory exclaimed. "We're sorry, OK? I'm back. I'm whole. Leave him out of this."

"She can't, Glory," Roger said, coming out of the living room and entering the kitchen. "She's your mother and Cole is who was in charge of you tonight, so he should have made sure you were here on time." Roger looked at Cole. "You always have before, why did it not work this time?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Davis," Cole said. "It won't happen again, I swear."

Roger and Cole locked eyes for several long moments, and then Roger relaxed. "All right," he said, "I'll let it go this time. Just don't let it happen again, OK?"

"Yes, sir," Cole said, and he turned to leave. Glory followed him outside.

"Cole, wait," she said. "I'm sorry."

Cole turned around to face her. "I know," he said, "it's OK. Your parents have a right to be worried. I messed up and I know it. At least your brothers didn't castrate me or something."

Glory smiled up at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"You will," Cole said, smiling down at her. He leaned down to kiss her, and then he went to his car and drove away.

So I guess this story is turning out to mainly focus on Glory. That's OK, right? I didn't even know it would, LOL, but it seems to be, and I like that. I hope you readers do, too.

Don't forget to review. I'll put more up ASAP.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry, Rosablasifann08, another one of my trademark tearjerkers. This chapter is very sad. This is your only warning. Also, I just thought I'd mention, I added a song into this chapter and the previous chapter. The song is What Hurts the Most, by Rascal Flatts, which seemed very fitting for this chapter. In the previous chapter, it's Lips of an Angel. I can't remember who sings it, though. I don't own both songs or the (coincidental) Casablanca quote. Wish I did, but I don't.

The prom is based on my junior prom from this year, but what happens after their prom is based on an experience my mom had when she was 16. I hope you don't get confused. If you do, just PM me and I'll explain.

This chapter has a bit of strong language in it, so if you're easily offended by that, don't read it. This is your only warning.

_Two years later…_

"Mom, I'm leaving!" 17-year-old Glory yelled up the stairs, as she heard Cole honk outside when he arrived.

"OK, have fun, sweetie," Stephanie said, coming out of the kitchen. "You guys are going to Tompkins Square Park, right?"

"Yep," Glory said. "We promise not to fall asleep this time."

Stephanie laughed. That had been so long ago. "OK, see you at 11."

"Bye, Mom," Glory said, and she ran out the door to Cole.

"Hey, Baby," Cole called, as she ran up to hug him, "happy third anniversary."

"Thanks," Glory said, "and the same to you."

"Thanks," Cole said, smiling down at her as she played with his floppy brown hair. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm always ready to go somewhere with you," Glory said excitedly. "Where are we going this time?"

"To our special place," Cole answered, smiling at her as he opened the passenger-side door for her and she got in.

"I can't wait," she said, smiling at him as they drove away.

* * *

Glory inhaled a deep breath of sweet spring air. It was the beginning of April, one of her favorite months. She loved the rains that brought the flowers. She loved the new life spring brought. She loved winter letting go of its cold bitterness and melting away to anew.

She snuggled herself closer to Cole and inhaled his sweet scent. She looked up at him and saw his eyes were closed.

"Hey, you asleep?" she asked quietly.

"Hm?" Cole said, stirring. "No, but I might be soon. I haven't been this relaxed in weeks, maybe months."

Glory chuckled and rolled over to kiss him. He deepened the kiss and his hand found its way to her shirt. He gently caressed her breast and she removed her shirt, giving him more access to her. Cole sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, leaning down to kiss her again. They pulled away, because the urge to breathe was high.

"Cole," Glory said softly.

"What?" Cole asked, looking up, afraid he'd done something wrong. "Glory, we don't have to if you don't want to. I can wait until you're ready."

"No," Glory said, shaking her head, "I want to. I love you, Cole. But won't somebody find us?"

"Nah," Cole said, "only you and I know where this part of the park is."

"Oh, OK, if you're sure," Glory said, and she kissed Cole again.

"I am," Cole said, nodding.

Cole and Glory gradually and playfully removed each other's clothes and Cole looked into Glory's eyes, as he stroked her fiery-red hair. She looked back into his piercing blue eyes, smiling, as she ran her fingers through his hair. She'd never really noticed how beautiful his eyes really were before.

Cole looked into Glory's eyes again, asking her a silent question. She nodded twice, giving him a silent answer, and they began to make love. It wasn't awkward, it was beautiful. It was the first time for both of them, so it was extra special.

They continued making love until they both exploded. Cole collapsed against Glory, his elbows supporting most of his weight. Glory lifted his head gently, noticing he was shaking from the effort.

"You're trembling," she whispered.

"Don't worry," he said to her, "I'll be all right." He pulled her into a kiss again and laid his head on her chest.

"I love you, Cole," Glory said to him.

"I love you, too, Baby," Cole replied.

* * *

Glory paced around the kitchen floor, a few weeks later. It was 4:30 P.M. on April 28th, and Glory had spent the entire day getting ready. It was prom night and she and Cole were going together as a couple. Glory held Cole's garter in her hand as she waited for him to drive up.

"Are you ready to go to your ball, Princess Glory?" Roger asked, coming into the living room to hug his daughter.

Glory laughed. "Yes, Your Majesty, I am," she said. "What do you think?" She turned around slowly for him.

"I think it's the first time you truly look like a girl," Roger teased. "Just kidding; you look beautiful, princess. Your mother is going to be in tears."

"Probably," Glory said, laughing at his tomboy remark. Roger was right; she didn't often dress like most of the girls at her school. She was usually wearing casual clothes, with one of Cole's many sweatshirts over the top. "I feel beautiful." She smiled. Tonight, she was wearing a brand new lavender dress, and her hair was curled just right, trailing down the length of her back.

"I'm so glad, princess," Roger said. "You should." He looked over her shoulder. "Here comes your mom. Prepare for the waterworks."

Stephanie laughed as she came into the room. "Hey, I heard that. Thanks, Baby," she teased, as she wiped her eyes.

"Well, it's true," Roger teased her, going over and wrapping his arms around her. "What do you think of our princess?"

"You look beautiful, Baby girl," Stephanie said, wiping her eyes.

"Don't cry, Mom, it's not like I'm moving away or anything," Glory said, laughing.

"I'm trying not to," Stephanie admitted, laughing as well. "You don't have a curfew tonight, Baby girl. Come back whenever you want, OK? And go have fun."

"OK, I will," Glory said, smiling at her mother. "I'm so excited, but I'm afraid I'm gonna do everything wrong."

"You won't mess up," Stephanie reassured her. "And if you do, you know you and Cole will laugh it off, and will remember to do it right next year, for your senior prom."

"Just remember to tip your waiter or waitress and you'll be fine," Roger reminded her.

"OK, thanks, Dad," Glory said, smiling at her father. "Hey, Mom, why do you keep calling me that?" she asked.

"Your uncle Collins, who your brother is named after, used to call Jennifer and me that all the time," Stephanie replied.

"Oh, OK. I was just wondering. I like it. It's sweet." The doorbell rang and Glory jumped. "Oh, boy, he's here." She looked nervously at her parents.

"Well, show him in," Stephanie said, and Glory went to the door. Aida was with them as well, going by herself. Mark was filming every bit he could of the special night, even before it began.

"Hi," she said to Cole, smiling at him.

"Hey, Baby," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Are you ready to go?"

"I sure am," Glory said. She handed him his garter. "Here you go. That goes on your left shoulder, in case you don't remember."

Cole laughed as he put it on. "Thanks, I remember," he said. "Are we doing pictures before we leave?"

Glory looked at her dad. "Sure," she said, and they went to go stand in the living room. They also went outside, since it was a gorgeous night, and took pictures in the backyard.

The twins came downstairs when Glory and Cole were about to leave. Glory looked at them expectantly.

"What, no smart-ass remarks or threats from you two tonight?" she asked.

"Nah," said Caleb. "Dad said he'd whack us if we did that tonight."

"But it only means we get to do it even more later," Collin said, and they gave her evil grins.

Glory rolled her eyes. "Bye, you two," she said, following Cole and Aida out the door.

* * *

Several hours later, at almost five in the morning, Glory and Cole arrived back at the Davis manor from the after-party. Cole smiled down at Glory as he leaned over to kiss her, as they sat in his car together.

"Did you have fun tonight?" he asked, when they had parted.

"I most certainly did," Glory replied, smiling up at him. "Thanks so much, Cole. I think we'd better keep Aida away from blackjack from now on, though, especially once we're of age for real gambling."

"And you away from the pull tabs," Cole teased.

Glory laughed. "Yeah," she said. "Cole, can I… can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Sure," Cole said, looking down at her, a gleam in his eyes. "What?"

"What do you see in the future for us?"

Cole chuckled. "Are you serious?" he asked, giving her a surprised look.

"Yeah, I am," Glory said, looking hard at him. "What do you see?"

Cole didn't even have to think about that one. "I see you," he replied, looking down at her.

Glory smiled. "You do?" she asked.

Cole nodded. "Yeah," he said. "What do you see?"

Glory suddenly felt a feeling of restlessness come over her and she got out of the car before she answered and she shut the door. Cole looked slightly confused, but he smiled anyway.

"Hey, what do you see?" he called to her, after rolling down the window. He opened his dashboard compartment and pulled something out of it.

"I'll see you Monday, right?"

"Well… yes, you will, Baby," Cole said, smiling through his confusion. He sighed. He wished Glory would have waited, so he could have given her what was in that little box. But tonight was her night to be happy and free, so he let it slide. "I love you, my princess."

"I love you, too, my prince," Glory replied, waving to him as she went inside. Cole made sure the box wouldn't move and its contents get damaged as he drove away. He'd have more chances.

Glory was so tired from the night's events that she simply undressed, got into her pajamas, and collapsed into bed.

* * *

Glory felt like she'd barely lain down to sleep when she was shaken awake again. "Glory, get up," her mother's voice said sharply. "Glory, get up, this is urgent!"

Glory sat up and turned on her bedside light. "Mom, what is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Honey, I have some very bad news to give you," Stephanie said hesitantly, sitting down on her bed and putting her hand on top of Glory's.

"What? What is it, Mom?" Glory asked, worried by her mother's tone of voice. Glory could always tell when her mother was upset, and Stephanie sounded this time like she was barely containing herself. She was hiding it, and Glory knew it. "What is it, Mom?" she repeated. "Is it Dad? Is it the twins? Aida? Tell me."

"No, they're fine, they're all fine," Stephanie said, and her voice shook. "It's Cole, Glory."

"What about Cole?" Glory asked, her eyes widening, and her adrenaline starting to pump.

"He was driving home tonight, and you know how he lives a mile or so out of town?" Glory nodded feverishly. "He fell asleep at the wheel… The sheriff called us a few minutes ago to tell us… I'm so sorry, Glory… Cole rolled his car and died." Stephanie gave Glory a small box. "They found this on his passenger seat. It was for you."

Glory's hand flew to her mouth. She was stunned. It was an engagement ring. Somehow, in the crash, it hadn't gotten damaged at all. She choked up as tears formed in her eyes and spilled over. Her throat was so tight, she couldn't speak. Stephanie came forward and began to wrap her arms around Glory, but Glory pushed her away.

"Honey, come here," Stephanie pleaded with her. "Please, honey, I want to comfort you." Stephanie could tell Glory was holding it all in as long as she could, and that any moment now, she was going to explode.

Glory shook her head and rushed out of her room, past Roger, who came to the door, and she ran down the hall, down the stairs, and was about to pull open the door when she heard her father say her name.

"Glory, wait," he said, and Glory froze. "Glory, talk to us. This was not your fault, princess. Don't go blaming yourself." Roger came down the stairs and pulled Glory toward him. Roger didn't let go of her for one second. He held her firmly for a few moments, as she struggled and screamed with fury and grief, but she eventually surrendered and broke down, and collapsed against him and cried.

"HE WAS GONNA ASK ME TO MARRY HIM, DAD!" she screamed. "HE DIED ON THE DAMN NIGHT HE WAS GONNA ASK ME TO MARRY HIM!" She shoved the ring in his face. "Tell me one thing!" she demanded. "I deserve your honest answer. Would you have given your blessings to us getting married before we were 18?"

"I don't know, princess," Roger said uncertainly. "It's difficult to say."

"NO, IT'S NOT DIFFICULT TO SAY!" Glory yelled. "HE LOVED ME, DAD! WE SAID WE LOVED EACH OTHER ON OUR FOUR-MONTH ANNIVERSARY, FOR GOD'S SAKE! HE WOULD NEVER HURT ME!"

"Glory, calm down," Roger said, watching her as she raged around the room.

"NO, I WON'T CALM DOWN! MY BOYFRIEND— PRACTICALLY MY FIANCÉ— IS DEAD BECAUSE OF ME! AND DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT WASN'T MY FAULT, BECAUSE I KNOW IT WAS!"

It killed Roger to see Glory like this. It hurt him so much. He wanted to cry with her. He wanted to hold her forever. He wanted to take away all of her pain, but he knew he couldn't. He could only be strong for her.

"He would have been working the graveyard shift at the Life if he hadn't called in sick to go to prom with you, Glory, which he knew you wanted; him as well," he said. "Whether he was with you tonight or not, princess, he would have been driving home late. This was _not_, in any way, your fault, princess." He looked down at her seriously. "Do you believe me?"

Glory shook her head. "I don't know, Dad," she sobbed. "It hurts so fucking bad. How could he be gone just like that?"

"I know, princess. I'm sorry," Roger said. "But you won't feel this way forever. If you ever need to talk, your mom and I are here for you, OK?"

Glory nodded. But she knew she still had to get away, if only to escape her pain.

_What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away_

* * *

For the entire day, Glory did nothing but cry and sleep. That afternoon, she drove to the bank, took out a large amount of her money from her savings, and went back to the manor. There, she packed her suitcase, hoping no one would burst in on her and find out what she was doing. She was nearly finished when she heard a voice behind her.

"What are you doing?"

Glory whirled around. "Caleb," she said, "please don't tell Mom and Dad. I can't fucking stay here." Tears flowed down her cheeks as she spoke to her little brother. "The only thing that has been sustaining me for the past three years has been Cole, and now he's… gone… I have to get away. I don't know how long for, but money won't be an issue. I took most of it out of my savings and deposited it half-and-half between checking and cash. I'll find myself a small apartment somewhere and I'll come back eventually… probably for Christmas or something… But please, don't tell them, OK?"

Caleb gave her a stunned look. "Glory, how the _hell_ do you expect me to keep something like this from them? How the _hell_ can you do this to them, to me, to Collin, to Aida, to everybody here? Why are you doing it? Why are you running from your pain?" His voice had involuntarily begun to rise as he became angry.

"Caleb, keep your voice down," Glory pleaded with him, looking at him nervously. "Look, I'll call when I get somewhere, OK? I don't know when that will be, though."

"Glory, this is so stupid…" Caleb began, before Glory cut him off.

"Caleb, you can't tell me what's right or wrong," she said sharply. "I'm almost 18. I can make that decision for myself. The love of my life is dead because of me. I'm not staying here. I'll leave a note for Mom and Dad, but I'm not coming back until I'm ready." Glory hugged her brother tightly. "Pass that on to Collin and Aida and Mom and Dad for me, OK?"

Caleb sighed. He could see that there was no convincing Glory at a time like this. He could only watch as she turned on her computer and typed a quick note to Stephanie and Roger. Then Caleb hugged her one last time, before she went out of her room, down the stairs with her suitcase, and out the door.

_And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_

* * *

As the bus pulled up to the station, Glory turned around and looked at the city she'd called home her entire life. Now she was leaving it like it had nothing more to give her. But it didn't have anything more to give her. She knew that now. Forget graduation and everything else; she had to leave.

"Well, here's to you, Cole," she said to herself. Glory heaved a deep breath before boarding the charter.

Don't forget to review. The next chapter will be up, hopefully, by the end of the weekend. No promises, though. It all depends on how quickly the ideas come. Plus, school ends really soon (my last day is next Wednesday), so I'm gonna be concentrating on getting through my junior year well enough. After that, summer will leave me a lot of time to think of more ideas and write as much as possible, so I'll be updating even more.

However, I will be gone from May 25-June 10 and July 7-20, so in those times, although I'll be writing, I will not have a computer and updating will be impossible. Sorry. Please keep that in mind and try to be understanding of the long wait.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	6. Chapter 6

As the bus pulled into Santa Fe, Glory looked out of the window, fresh tears on her cheeks. She had cried so much on the trip down to New Mexico, she didn't think she could cry anymore. But every time she thought that and thought of Cole, she ended up crying again. She missed Cole so badly, it was like there was a hole in her heart that she didn't think would ever heal.

The driver came back to her seat and looked down at her. "I believe this is your stop, miss," he said.

Glory looked up at him. "Thanks," she said, and she paid the fare and got off the bus as quickly as possible. She was adjusting her suitcase on her shoulder, and she didn't notice where she was going. So consequently, she crashed into someone.

"Hey, watch it," said an irritable voice. "Jeez, don't you watch where you're going?"

"Sorry," Glory mumbled, looking at the ground. "I was just ad… Sorry." She looked up. It was a boy.

"It's OK," the boy said. "I'm just having a bad day, that's all. I was just fired from my job, like, half an hour ago. Who are you? I'm Jordan Krause."

"I'm Glory Davis," she replied, looking up at him. "I'm from New York City."

"It's nice to meet you, Glory," Jordan said. "But what are you doing here alone? This is one of those cities where a person doesn't just show up for no reason. Usually, someone has to be running from something really bad. And you look… young." He gave her a quick once-over.

Glory shrugged. "I am, I guess," she said. "And to be honest with you, I'm running away."

"You are?" Jordan asked, looking surprised. Glory nodded firmly. "Oh. I'm sorry. Why are you running away?"

"I'm running from my past," she replied. "It's not really my past… it only happened, um… three days ago, actually." Tears threatened to appear, but she blinked them back furiously.

Jordan looked down at her sadly. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Glory's eyebrows rose. "Huh?" she said, caught off-guard. "To you?" Jordan nodded. "No, I don't," she said, instantly defensive. "I just met you thirty seconds ago… Jordan… and you expect me to talk about my…? No, I don't want to. I need to go find a place to stay."

She began to walk away, but Jordan stepped in front of her swiftly. "Why don't you come stay with me?" he offered.

Glory was very surprised. "With you?" she echoed. "Are you kidding?"

"Um, no," Jordan said, acting as though this was something he offered daily. "I don't live far from here. You can stay with me if you need a place to stay. Rent is free."

Glory chuckled hollowly. "Um, no thanks," she said firmly. "I've got enough money to last me for, like, the rest of my Godforsaken life. I don't need free board from a guy I barely know."

"Can I at least get something to eat with you or something?" Jordan asked.

"What are you, deaf?" Glory yelled, glaring at him. "I told you, I'm on my own. I don't need you or your help. Just leave me alone, Jordan, or I might already have to get a restraining order on you. Don't think I can't, either; but if you want to find out the hard way, fine."

Without another word or waiting for a reply, Glory stormed away from Jordan, hoisting her suitcase higher on her shoulder. Not too much later, she found a decent hotel close to the bus station. She paid for a night's stay, and without even unpacking her suitcase, she collapsed onto her bed.

* * *

_Two days earlier…_

"Look at this," Stephanie demanded, walking briskly over to Glory's computer, which was a few feet away from her bed. She pointed to a typed message on the screen.

Roger frowned slightly and read it.

_Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for leaving without telling you. But I need to be alone for a while to think things over. Please don't be mad at me. I need to do this on my own. I'll be back as soon as possible. I don't know when that will be. Please know that I am safe, I have money, and I'll be OK. Love, Glory._

Roger looked up at Stephanie. "She didn't really…?" he asked, stunned.

"Yes, she did," Stephanie finished for him, scowling angrily. "She's really gone." Stephanie turned away from the computer and put her head in her hands anxiously. "Oh my God, I can't believe she would do something like this."

"I can," Caleb, who was standing in the doorframe, said. Collin was standing silently to his left, but the nasty looks he was sending his twin could have killed. Stephanie and Roger looked at Caleb, but he didn't flinch.

"You knew about this and you didn't tell us?" Roger demanded furiously.

"Correction," Caleb said calmly, "I know about this only as much as you do; she wouldn't tell me anything more than what is on that screen. But don't think about it so hard, Dad. Maybe it's not that complicated after all. Where did you go to escape the pain of Angel's death and Mimi leaving you and everyone harrassing you about everything, almost 20 years ago?"

Roger looked up at Stephanie as he realized what Caleb was talking about. "Santa Fe," he said. "She went to _Santa Fe_?"

Caleb shrugged, looking worried. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said, "but I think that's a good start. You didn't see her, Dad, packing in the dead of night, while trying not to cry over Cole's death. Do you even know what she could possibly do to herself, while she's out there, alone, in a strange world? She'll do anything to escape the pain of what she thinks she's done."

"I have a hunch," Roger said, and he stormed out of Glory's room.

"Roger, where are you going?" Stephanie called, following him out of the room, the twins right behind her.

"I'm going to go get her," Roger said, and Stephanie, Caleb, and Collin followed him to the top of the stairs. He turned to face them and began to pace around. "If I have to hop a Red Eye or a military jet, or take a bus or hire a Private Investigator, or whatever, I'm going to get her back here where she belongs. She's gonna get herself into so much shit when she's in this state of mind, in a place like that, it'll make her head spin, if it doesn't kill her first. If it doesn't, I'm gonna make it so it does when I see her. I'm gonna knock some serious sense into her. I'm not gonna let her end up like you and I were back then, Steph," he said firmly. "Do you realize how many times we could have gotten ourselves killed, buying drugs and all that shit in those days? Now it's a hundred times worse, especially for teenagers."

"Then I'm going with you," Stephanie said firmly, looking over at him.

Roger stopped walking, caught off-guard. "You're what?" he asked.

"I'm going with you," Stephanie said. "We can't help Glory by ourselves. It has to be done together. That's what we've always been: a team. And that's the way it's going to stay. Whether you like it or not, Roger Davis, I'm going with you. Once we bring her back home together, we can get her the real help she needs." She looked up at him as tears formed in her eyes. "'Till death do us part', remember?"

Roger nodded and swallowed nervously. "Yeah, I remember," he said, smiling weakly down at her. "OK, let's call Jen and Mark and make arrangements for the boys to stay at their place while we're gone. It won't be for long, if I have my way, and the loft is big enough that space won't be a problem for them for the time being."

"OK," Stephanie said, and she followed Roger into the kitchen to make the dreaded call.

As I said earlier, Glory is getting into some trouble. You'll understand more about that in the next chapter, because she will see Jordan again. Jordan's not who he seems, either. You'll find out soon, I promise.

Don't forget to review. The next chapter will probably be up by the end of the weekend, but I'll have to see. As usual, no promises.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	7. Chapter 7

_Two months later…_

"Glory Jennifer Davis, are you in here?" Roger asked, as he walked into the apartment with Stephanie and the Private Investigator behind him.

Glory jerked awake and let out a yelp. A second later, she leapt out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. Jordan, who had been sleeping beside her, awoke just before Roger came striding into the room.

"What the hell?" Roger yelled, and a look of pure fury came over his face. "Glory, what the hell is going on? Who is this guy? And why the hell were you in bed with him?"

"Dad, calm down!" Glory said, looking up at him. "It's not what it—"

"NOT WHAT IT SEEMS?" Roger yelled, enraged. "It most certainly IS what it seems!" Jordan sat up and swung his legs out of bed, about to go over to Glory. "Boy! You had better stay there and not move an inch or you won't have legs to walk on for the rest of your life," Roger added threateningly to him. "Glory, what the hell is going on?" He looked at his daughter. "You're gone for two months, leaving us nothing but a note and your brother massively confused, in the dead of night, and now I find you in bed with some— some twenty-something-year-old guy!"

Stephanie came over and put her hand on Roger's arm. "Roger, calm down," she said, scared at seeing this side of Roger. "Glory can explain, can't you, Glory?" She looked at her daughter.

"Oh, she'd better be able to," Roger snapped. "And I can't calm down, Stephanie. We waited a week before filing the Missing Persons report, and that did no good. We've been here before once already, and missed her then. I just wonder how this bastard got away from us so much that Glory's been here for almost three months now."

Roger's eyes scanned the room and his eyes fell on the nightstand, which had beer bottles, needles and lines of pure white heroin on top of it. He turned back to Glory. "You're an addict now?" he yelled. "Glory, what the hell is this guy doing to you?"

"He's helped me, Dad," Glory said, looking up at her father with tears in her eyes. "He's the only person I've talked to about… about Cole… since…" She couldn't finish the sentence. It was still too painful for her. "He gave me a place to stay here."

"Gave you a place to stay?" Roger repeated, shocked. "Glory, you ran away! Your mother and I were worried sick about you! Now I find you drinking and shooting up heroin?"

"The beer's not mine!" Glory yelled, but Roger knew, by the look on her face, that she was lying.

"What do you want to turn into, Glory?" he asked. "Do you want to end up like your mom and I, HIV-positive for the rest of our lives? That's irreversible, Glory, and you know it. Come on, we're going home."

He made to grab her by the arm, but she pulled away. "No, Dad!" she yelled. "I like it here in Santa Fe. It's warm, the people are decent, and the scenery is beautiful… It's so not like the city! I have friends!"

"You call junkies 'friends'?" Roger asked, looking down at her. "You're lucky I won't beat the shit out of your 'friend' there, Glory. You're coming home with me now, whether you like it or not. Get your stuff together and let's go." This time, Roger didn't let Glory pull away when he grabbed her.

"NO! DAD, LET ME GO! I WANT TO STAY WITH JORDAN! LET ME GO, YOU BASTARD!" Glory screamed. She looked at her mother, begging her for help. Stephanie was gathering Glory's things together into her suitcase. "Mom, do something, please! Make him stop!"

"Honey, I can't," Stephanie said, close to tears, as she swung Glory's suitcase strap onto her shoulder. "You have to come home. You've been gone for two months. We need to get you off this shit. You're coming home so we can help you, sweetie."

Neither Stephanie nor Roger gave Jordan the slightest acknowledgment. Jordan knew he stood no chance against Roger, so he could only watch as they took Glory away, back to where she really belonged. As Stephanie threw Glory's suitcase into the back of the rental car, and Roger struggled to get Glory into the car, the Private Investigator's law enforcement backup came and Jordan was arrested on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and providing a minor with drug paraphernalia. Glory knew she'd never see him again.

* * *

The whole flight back to New York, Glory didn't speak to her father. She couldn't even look at him. The only thing she did do was cry, talk to her mother, apologizing for what she had done and try to explain herself, and sleep off the pain of her withdrawal.

* * *

When they got home, Caleb, Collin, Mark, Jennifer, and Aida met them outside. Aida and the twins were stunned at the change in their older sister from the eight weeks she had been using heroin. Glory's hair, which used to be thick and flame-red, had thinned out and she had dyed it black. Her face was a lot thinner and she had lost a lot of weight. Her eyes, so full of life and light, were now dull and glassy. The tear stains on her cheeks made her look like she had given up completely on life.

"Glory?" Caleb asked, coming up to her. But she simply pushed him away and ran inside the house and up to her room.

"Just let her be, Caleb," Stephanie said. "She's in a lot of pain from the withdrawal and the memories of Cole. She'll come around eventually, but for now, we have to do our best in just keeping an eye on her and making sure she doesn't get any more heroin, OK?"

Caleb nodded and swallowed nervously. "OK," he said, and they went inside. They weren't even ten steps inside the house, and already, they could hear Glory crying and screaming upstairs. "Mom, is she OK?" he asked.

"I think so, sweetie," Stephanie answered, but she was not altogether certain. Her mind kept going back to when she was addicted to heroin, from when she was 16 until she was almost 20. Jennifer noticed the look on Stephanie's face and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Steph, are you OK?" she asked.

Stephanie looked up at her best friend. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I'm really scared for Glory, Jen… What could we have done that made her choose this? It hurts so bad to see her in pain like that…" Stephanie looked away as she started to cry. "I wanna cry every time I hear her scream… I wanna take away her pain and put it all in me instead… She's so young yet… And she has school to make up for, because of this running away incident… I'm so lost… I've never had to deal with something like this before… What did you do when I was like her?"

"I just stayed strong for you and helped you through it," Jennifer answered. "There wasn't anything else I could have done. We can put Glory in rehab and once her withdrawal is less painful, she can go back to school and catch up. She might have to repeat part of the year, but that's OK, as long as she gets over all this, right?"

Stephanie nodded. "Right," she said. She looked up at Jennifer. "Jen, is this our fault?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No," she said firmly, "this is, in no way, your fault, Stephanie. Glory's obviously not dealing with Cole's death properly. She'll have to figure that out on her own."

"But she's been trying," Stephanie said, "and that resulted in this shit. What do you think she'll do next?"

"I don't know, sweetie," Jennifer said. "Let's just give her a few days to settle back in to life in the city, OK? She's been gone a long time for a seventeen-year-old."

"OK," Stephanie said, nodding. "I just hope you're right, Jen."

Jennifer smiled encouragingly at Stephanie and hugged her best friend tightly.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

Caleb came into Glory's room one evening, hoping Glory would talk to him. She hadn't spoken to him once since she'd arrived back home, and this only worried Caleb more. He knew she would be even more angry when she found out there was a possibility she'd have to repeat the school year; that is, if school even mattered to her anymore, now that her entire life centered around heroin.

"Glory," he said, "can we… can we talk?"

"Go away," Glory said to him. She was lying on her bed, clutching a pillow to her stomach. "I don't want to talk to you."

"But—"

"CALEB, GO AWAY, DAMMIT!" Glory yelled. "YOU ARE THE DAMN REASON MOM AND DAD FOUND ME IN THE FIRST PLACE! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME, HUH?"

"I did what was best for you, Glory," Caleb said, coming into her room and pulling her computer chair up next to her bed. "Glory, you gotta get off this shit. It's not good for you. It's highly addictive and it'll only kill you in the end. You're my older sister, my _only _sister. I don't want to outlive you. That's not the way it's supposed to be. But that's the way it's gonna be if you keep this up. We brought you home so you could get off the smack, Glory. You've seen Mom and Dad, how happy they are, since they aren't dependent on it. That can be you, too, eventually."

"But it hurts so bad to not have it, Caleb," Glory sobbed, as she started to cry and clutched her pillow harder, trying to make the pain go away.

"I know, sis, and I'm sorry," Caleb said. "But you'll get through it. The pain will eventually lessen and then it'll go away. It did for both Mom and Dad. It can for you, too. It just takes time."

"I don't care about time anymore," Glory said, as she cried. "I stopped caring about time when Cole died, Caleb. I miss him so much. Why'd he have to leave me?"

"He didn't leave you, Glory," Caleb said. He raised his voice as she got off her bed and rushed out the door, leaving him behind. "He died!"

Collin came into Glory's room as Caleb sank onto Glory's bed, frustrated and confused. "Still no luck?" he asked.

Caleb scowled at Collin. "No," he said, "and you aren't helping much, either. You haven't tried saying a word to her since she came back."

Collin shrugged. "Hey, there isn't anything I can do," he said. "Besides being related to her, this is Mom and Dad's and her problem. You're only involved because you squealed on her."

"Oh, and you wouldn't have?" Caleb yelled at his brother. "Would you have just let her stay there and slowly die? What if she's positive, like Mom and Dad are, huh? What are we gonna do then? They'll put us in foster homes so fast once the three of them die, it'll make our heads spin."

"You think I don't know that?" Collin snapped, glaring at his brother. "I think about it every day, not knowing if Mom and Dad are gonna develop PCP or whatever from their HIV, Caleb. And maybe we won't get put into foster homes— maybe Uncle Mark and Aunt Jennifer will take us in or something. And if they can't, maybe we can live with Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne. Don't you think that would work?"

Caleb looked up at his twin. "You're serious?" he asked.

Collin shrugged. "It's a theory," he said. "What else have we got?"

"I don't know," Caleb said, sighing. "But I do know one thing."

"What?"

"We've got to stop fighting like this. With Mom and Dad's time wrapped up in getting Glory better, with rehab or whatever, we'll be the only sane ones around here sometimes."

Collin scowled at Caleb. "Well, why didn't you say so before?" he asked.

Caleb rolled his eyes and smiled. "Jerk," he said fondly, laughing as Collin sat next to him.

"Dork," Collin said, laughing, as he ruffled Caleb's hair.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

At the end of the first month of Glory's return, Caleb went into his sister's room again. She was reading a book and had her headphones on. He waited until she looked up to go in.

"What is it?" she asked, taking off her headphones.

"Can we talk?" Caleb asked.

Glory shrugged. "Sure," she said, "I guess, if you really want to." She moved over to make room for him and he sat down.

"I do," Caleb said. "You know I didn't tell Mom and Dad where you were to hurt you, Glory. I'm not bragging or anything, but I practically saved your life. Do you realize now what you could have done with Jordan?"

Glory nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said. "And I'm not saying I'm not glad you guys came for me, because I am, but…"

"But what?" Caleb asked, looking up at her.

"Well… being with Jordan… talking about Cole… it helped a lot to alleviate my pain of Cole being gone," Glory said. "And for a while, I couldn't find that here. That's why I left."

"Glory, you were only here for 24 hours after he died," Caleb said. "You didn't give us a chance to help you. Will you let us now?"

Glory looked up at her brother, who was already six inches taller than her and still growing. "Yeah," she said, "I will." She hugged her brother close. "Thanks, Caleb."

"No problem, sis," Caleb replied, smiling down at her. "Hey, can I ask you something?" he added, after a moment's pause.

"Sure, what?" Glory asked him.

"Does it still… you know… hurt from your withdrawal?"

Glory looked up at him and sighed. "Not so much anymore," she replied quietly. "It only hurts sometimes now; and not nearly as badly as it used to. It was really bad at first, though. That's why I was always yelling and screaming at you guys, because it hurt so much. Promise me you'll never get into heroin, OK?"

Caleb nodded. "I promise," he said, giving her a strong smile.

I hope this chapter is long enough to satisfy you readers until I get back from the East Coast! I'll try to post up another chapter before I leave on Friday, but if I don't, I won't be updating anything until at least June 10th. Sorry. But I'll have fun in D.C., Kentucky (horse races!!), and Virginia while I'm gone, LOL!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry, Rosablasifann08, another one of my trademark tearjerkers. Enjoy anyway.

Important Note: This will be my last update before I leave for the East Coast on Friday evening. I've got way too much going on for my first two days of vacation: my best friend is spending all day Thursday and Friday with me, a conglomerate of my friends and I are going to Pirates of the Caribbean 3 at 10 P.M. on Thursday, for the Midnight showing, and I've still got to finish packing for the East Coast AND clean my room so relatives can come over and rent it while I'm gone, LOL. So this is (honest) my last update before I leave Friday night. No lies or promises this time. Sorry.

Glory walked down the hall of her high school, well aware of the stares she was receiving. Students didn't bother lowering their voices as they whispered about her.

"Just ignore them, Glory," Aida muttered under her breath. "You're a senior now. They are the last thing you should be worried about."

"But you don't understand, Aida," Glory said to her. "You weren't there. You didn't have to hear your mom give you the bombshell at not even six in the morning. You don't have to take this—"

"I have to take it as much as you, Glory," Aida said sharply. "Cole was my friend also, remember? It hurts me just as much as you that he's gone, even though I was never romantically involved with him." She looked over at her. "Don't worry, it'll die off eventually."

"Maybe," Glory said, "but that's only after everybody's theories from the summer die down, too. Can't you tell?"

"Can't I tell what?" Aida asked.

"They think I killed Cole, Aida. I wasn't even fucking there. My mom woke me up half an hour after I had fucking gone to bed to tell me he was dead." Glory put her hand over her mouth as she started to cry.

Aida put her arm around Glory's shoulders. "Look, Glory, you've had a rough few months," she said, "but it'll turn around soon. Just get back into your routine and it'll be OK."

"No," Glory said, and she stopped walking and pulled away from Aida. "You don't get it. I can't stay here. Everything here reminds me of him. I see him everywhere I used to go. Everyone knows about my fucking heroin addiction by now, and how I almost got expelled, until my mom and dad vouched for me and how it was simply an extremely bad choice after I 'endured a substantial loss,' as my stupid counselor calls it. But I've been clean for three months now, so does it really matter anymore?" She turned around and started running down the hallway.

"Glory," Aida yelled after her, "Glory, stop!"

"No!" Glory yelled back. "Everyone thinks I did it!"

Without looking back, she pushed open the doors, and was gone.

* * *

Caleb came to Aida's side and took her hand. "Where'd Glory go?" he asked. Now a sophomore, both he and Collin were very handsome, although Collin more rugged than Caleb. Both boys looked just like their father did at the age.

"She's run away again, Caleb," Aida said, worried. "Not like last time, but… she says she can't come back here after Cole. She says everyone thinks she did it— killed him, I mean, what with the car crash and all— and on top of that, her heroin addiction…" Aida looked up at him. "What are we gonna do? Transferring schools won't help her. Stories travel fast, and we won't be there for her."

"We've got to talk to her," Caleb said. "She obviously needs more help. Where do you think she went?"

"Either she went home or she…" Aida's voice trailed off, as an idea surfaced in her mind.

"She what, Aida?" Caleb pressed her.

"I think she's going to Cole's memorial. You know— that cross we put by the highway, where he crashed his car?"

"Then that's where we look, after we check my house," Caleb said. "Can you meet me in the commons at lunch and we can go look?"

"Yeah, sure," Aida said, nodding. She gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. "OK, I'll see you at lunch."

"Yep, you will," Caleb said, smiling as he watched her leave.

* * *

Aida and Caleb drove to the Davis manor as quickly as they could. They went in without even knocking, startling Stephanie, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Caleb, what are you doing here?" she asked, coming out into the entryway. "You're supposed to be in school."

"We're on lunch break, Mom. Glory ran off right after she and Aida got to school today. We think she went to Cole's memorial."

"Why'd she leave?" Stephanie asked, looking worried.

"Mom, think about it," Caleb said. "Nobody knows what really happened that night, except what you told her and what got around. Even though we never spoke openly to anyone about it, stories spread. Everyone at school thinks Glory killed him, Mom. She can't show her face at campus because of that."

Stephanie frowned. "Oh man," she said, "that's awful. I had no idea."

"Well, no, you wouldn't, really," Caleb said understandingly, "seeing as Glory won't talk to us about any of it. But she obviously needs more help, Mom. We can't give that to her, professionals can't. What do we do?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said. "All we can do for now is to find her."

Caleb nodded. "OK," he said. "We're ready when you are."

"Your brother is still at school, right?"

"Yeah, he has no idea what's going on… not that he'd try and help anyway," Caleb added under his breath. Stephanie scowled at him. "What? It's true. He's pretty much disowned himself with all this heroin and running away stuff that happened."

Stephanie sighed. "Well, that's up to him," she said. "We can't stop him. Come on. Let's find your sister, OK?"

"OK," Caleb said, and he and Aida followed his mother out.

* * *

Caleb, Aida, and Stephanie pulled over onto the side of the road, where they saw Glory kneeling on the ground, next to Cole's cross. They got out and went over to her.

"Glory," Stephanie said, but Glory ignored her. "Glory, sweetie, come here."

Glory still didn't acknowledge their presence. They could see tears on her face. "Glory," Caleb said, "we know you're mad that Cole died, but don't take it out on us."

"Why not, Caleb?" Glory asked, finally speaking to them. "He didn't deserve to die. He shouldn't have abandoned me."

"He didn't abandon you, Glory," Aida said, "he died. It wasn't fair that he died, but he did and we can't do anything about that."

"It's all right to hate him, Glory," Stephanie said. "When Collins died to save me, I was angry at him, too. I hated him for leaving me— leaving us, all of the Bohos— too soon. I felt alone and I hated him for it. But even more so, I hated the gunman for taking him from me, from us. He was stolen from all of us."

Glory looked around. "What do you mean, Mom?" she asked through her tears. "Tell me."

"OK," Stephanie said, "but it might take a while. It's still… painful sometimes… for me to talk about it."

"_That was a great party," Stephanie said, as she walked back to the loft with Mark, Jennifer, Roger, and Collins, Maureen and Joanne close behind them, with their arms around each other's waists lovingly._

"_Yeah, it was," Collins said, as he hugged her close. "Congratulations, Baby girl, we're so happy for you."_

"_Thanks, Collins," Stephanie said, and she wiped away more tears that had escaped from her eyes. "I'm so happy she's negative. This is the best day of my life— besides our wedding and her birth and meeting Roger and— oh, I don't know. It's just one of the best days ever. Ever since I met all of you, I've never been happier."_

"_We're so glad to have met you, too, Baby girl," Collins said._

_Stephanie had no idea her euphoria would be so short-lived. A man dressed in completely black clothes, wearing a face mask, stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley and pulled a gun out of his jacket. Stephanie froze and had but a few seconds to think._

"_Guys, get out of here," she said loudly, referring to Jennifer, Mark, Maureen, Joanne, and Roger. All but Roger quickly took off running. "What do you want?" she asked the man._

"_Stephanie, go," Roger demanded. "You don't want to be here. Go!"_

"_No, you stay, broad. I want some of your fortune, bitch," the gunman said. "Give whatever money you have with you now, and no one gets hurt."_

"_Now hang on—" Collins began hotly, stepping protectively in front of Stephanie, but the gunman pulled the trigger and Collins fell to the ground._

_Stephanie didn't realize she had screamed until Maureen and Joanne were beside her in a flash. She fell to her knees beside Collins, horrified; Maureen and Joanne made to as well, but Mark and Jennifer held them back. Roger took off running after the gunman after glancing once at Stephanie to make sure she was OK. She was splattered with blood, but unhurt._

"_No, don't touch them!" Mark exclaimed. "You two are negative, and we intend to keep that way. Come on, we need to get help!"_

_And before anyone could think to stop him, Mark had spun around and was off running. Maureen, Joanne, and Jennifer followed close behind._

_Stephanie took Collins' hand and tried to hold back the tears, but she couldn't. "Collins, talk to me," she said tearfully. "Talk to me, Collins."_

_Collins slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. He was crying._

"_Baby girl…" he gasped. "Are you… are you OK?"_

"_I'm fine, I'm fine," Stephanie stammered, squeezing his hand._

"_Where'd the… gunman go?" Collins asked._

"_I don't know, Roger went after him," Stephanie sobbed. She saw Collins close his eyes again. "No, don't close your eyes, Collins," she demanded, squeezing his hand firmly. "If you do, you'll…" She couldn't finish her sentence._

"_I know, Baby girl," he said, opening his eyes again and looking up at her. "But I'm not gonna…"_

"_Yes, you are," Stephanie said firmly, looking into his warm brown eyes, which were now filled with pain. "You will make it, Collins. I won't let you die! Not here, not now!"_

"_I'll try not to, Baby girl…"_

_Stephanie looked over her shoulder and saw Mark, Jennifer, and Joanne coming back. Stephanie looked back at Collins again and spoke to him. "The ambulance is coming, Collins," she said, laughing tearfully with relief. "Hang on, OK? Hang in there." More tears squeezed out of Collins' eyes and he took in a ragged breath. "You guys, do they know where we are?" she asked._

"_Yeah, we told them the alley a block east of the Life Café," Mark said. "Maureen's out there, waiting for them. She said she'd flag them down by whatever means. Where's Roger?"_

"_He ran after the gunman," Stephanie said. "God, I hope he's OK…" Collins suddenly groaned and let out a moan of pain. "Collins," she said to him, as she felt him go limp. "Collins, hang in there, buddy, please…"_

"_But Baby girl… he's calling me… he's telling me… time to let go…"_

"_Who, Angel?" Stephanie asked him._

_Collins' head fell to the side and he closed his eyes once more. Stephanie gritted her teeth and clenched his hand harder._

"_Collins," she screamed, and when she got no response, she knew he was gone. "COLLINS!"_

_As the ambulance drove up, Jennifer and Mark pulled her back, away from Collins, so the EMT's could load him into the ambulance. Roger suddenly returned, breathing hard. Stephanie went over to him and suddenly broke down. She sank against him, crying freely into his chest. Roger clung to her, tears in his eyes, his eyes blazing with anger._

"_I didn't find him. He got away. Easy, Baby, easy…" he said._

"_IT WASN'T HIS TIME, DAMN IT!" Stephanie screamed, and she hit Roger in the chest with each sentence she spoke. Roger rocked her back and forth comfortingly nevertheless, taking her rage as it came. "He shouldn't have died! We should have fucking done something! Why did he have to die? That guy wanted ME, for God's sake! I SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Stephanie's voice cracked. When she spoke again, it came back as barely a whisper. "I should have died…"_

_Roger rocked her back and forth more as she cried. Tears escaped his eyes, too. Roger looked up helplessly at the other Bohemians. There were no dry eyes. "Stephanie, look at me," he said, but she didn't. "Look at me," he repeated, more firmly, and Stephanie did. "Listen to me, Steph. Collins died to save you. I know that wasn't how it was supposed to be... how we wanted it to be... but that's how it is. No matter what, we'll get through this, OK? But for now, you and I, Mark and Jen, we have daughters to get home to and take care of, OK? Let's just go back to them. They need us, now more than ever."_

_Stephanie nodded. "Somebody needs to go with them, though," she said, indicating to the waiting ambulance._

"_We know this is hard for you," one of the EMT's said, "but can one of you come with?"_

"_We will," Maureen and Joanne said, both to Stephanie and Roger and the EMT's._

"_We'll take your car back to the loft, Jo," Roger added. She nodded and smiled tearfully._

_The EMT's nodded as well, seeing that the two women were not to be parted, and Maureen and Joanne got in the ambulance and were gone._

_Stephanie, Roger, Mark and Jennifer went back to the loft and drove to Jennifer's house to get Glory and Aida. Mrs. Dawson noticed the looks on each of their faces when she answered the door, and she frowned slightly._

"_Are you guys OK?" she asked. She looked at Jennifer. "Jen, honey, what happened?"_

_Jennifer looked at her mom with tears in her eyes. "Can we… can we come in to talk about it?" she stammered. "It might be best if we all sat down."_

"_Yes, of course," Mrs. Dawson said, and she let them in._

"_Where are Aida and Glory?" Jennifer asked._

"_In the living room with... with your dad," Mrs. Dawson replied, and she followed Jennifer and the Bohemians into the living room. Jennifer and Stephanie immediately went over to Mr. Dawson and picked up their daughters._

"_Hi, Dad," Jennifer said quietly._

"_Hey, sweetie," Mr. Dawson said, hugging her and looking confused. "What's going on? You're early."_

"_There was a family emergency," Jennifer explained. "Collins was shot and killed by a gunman."_

"_Oh my God," her parents said together. Mrs. Dawson's hand flew to her mouth and Mr. Dawson put his arms around her comfortingly, as tears sprang to her eyes._

"_Jen, I'm so sorry," Mr. Dawson said. "When did this happen?"_

"_About fifteen minutes ago; Mo and Jo went with the ambulance," Jennifer replied. "We have to go get them from the hospital soon."_

_Mrs. Dawson let go of Mr. Dawson and hugged her daughter and granddaughter. "I'm just glad you're OK," she said._

_Jennifer nodded. "I know," she said. "The bastard was after Stephanie's fortune, or at least some of it. I guess he knew her from her smack days. We'll never know, because he got away."_

_Mrs. Dawson looked at Stephanie sympathetically. "I'm so sorry, Stephanie," she said. "And you know, about your parents that day… I was only doing what I thought was a good thing."_

_Stephanie nodded solemnly, but didn't say anything. Her stomach felt like it was at the base of her throat, and she thought that, if she opened her mouth, she would be sick. She just didn't feel like giving Mrs. Dawson a true answer yet, with all that had happened back on hers and Roger's wedding day. She didn't feel like she was quite ready to forgive Mrs. Dawson for what she had done._

_Her cell phone went off and she answered it. When whoever was on the other end hung up, she looked at her solemn friends. "That was Mo and Jo," she said. "They got Collins situated. We should go pick them up and make preparations for his funeral."_

"_Why don't we drive you," Mrs. Dawson suggested, "or, at least, some of you? It would save a trip."_

"_OK, some of us can go with you," Stephanie said, "but we have to get Jo her car back. They went in the ambulance."_

"_OK, that's no problem," Mrs. Dawson said. She put a comforting hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Are you gonna be OK, Steph?"_

_Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, I'll be all right," she said, smiling at Mrs. Dawson._

When Stephanie was finished, she opened her eyes and the tears spilled. She wiped her eyes and looked at Glory again. "It is _OK_ to hate Cole. Tell him, Glory," she said. "Tell him you hate him for leaving you alone so soon. Tell him you miss how he made your world soar. Tell him everything."

Glory looked at Stephanie, and then she looked back at the cross. "How dare you!" she yelled, going over and banging on the cross with her fist. "How dare you leave me? How could you go and die and leave me here, alone? Please come back," she pleaded, as she started to cry. "I need you, Cole. Please come back to me."

Glory screamed and sank to the ground. She sat there and cried bitterly for a few moments, while Stephanie, Aida, and Caleb watched in silence. Then Aida and Stephanie kneeled down next to her.

"It's OK," Stephanie said soothingly, wrapping her arms around her daughter, "it's OK, honey."

"No," Glory sobbed, "it's not OK. He never thought about what would happen to me if he was gone."

"I know," Stephanie said.

"How did he think I could live without him?" Glory cried.

Stephanie hugged her as tears welled up in hers and Aida's eyes, as they looked silently at Cole's cross.

* * *

Glory came out into the kitchen the next morning, and saw her mother was already up, drinking a cup of coffee. "Morning," she said quietly.

"Morning, sweetie," Stephanie said, pulling Glory into a hug. "Did you sleep?"

"Yeah," Glory said, smiling at her mother, "better than in a long time, actually. Thanks. Mom, what am I gonna do about school?" she asked, looking over at her mother. "I mean, I was lucky enough not to have to repeat my junior year. But now, with Cole gone and everyone thinks I did it, and they know about my heroin addiction... I don't know what to do."

"Well, sweetie, I can't really answer that for you," Stephanie said. "You're just gonna have to deal with it, I guess. We can help you all you need, of course, but you'll have to come to terms with it on your own time."

Glory nodded. "I think that happened last night," she said quietly. She looked over at her mother. "So, how scary was I?"

Stephanie laughed. "I've seen much worse, believe me," she said. "Besides," she added, squeezing Glory's hand, "I love you. And Cole loved you, too."

Glory nodded, looking down at the ring on her left hand. She toyed with it a little. She'd never taken it off since Cole had died. "Yeah, he did," she said softly. "I really miss him, though."

"I know you do," Stephanie said. "You know, so do I. We all do. He made a good dent in all of our lives."

"Yeah, he did," Glory agreed, smiling at her mother.

Don't forget to review. I will be writing some while I'm gone, whenever I can, even though we'll be extremely busy on our vacation. It will be updated with whatever I have as soon as I get back.

There is a VERY slim possibility that I will be able to type something up and update while I'm on my vacation, since we're taking my stepdad's laptop along (simply to charge my Mp3 player), but that's rather unlikely, if my mother has her way. Sorry. (I WILL stage a coup if I can, though! LOL.)

I can't wait to get back to this story, whenever that will be. Enjoy this until I return!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	9. Chapter 9

OMG! I ACTUALLY UPDATED! LOL. I have been writing this for several days, and tonight, I finally was in a hotel that had FREE WIRELESS INTERNET, so I could update! I had typed it several days ago, in a crappy Indian hotel in Kentucky (sorry, Rosablasifann08, but Cave City SUCKED BIG TIME!) And I finally updated! YAY! The FINAL two chapters will be up by the end of tonight, too! YAY! Love ya guys lots from VA (tonight!) Enjoy the surprise I've been wanting to put up for weeks!! THIS STORY WILL BE DEDICATED TO WHOEVER CAN FIGURE OUT THE ENDING!!

Oh, by the way, Rosablasifann08, you'll know where Glory's teacher's name comes from! And Rush is from Pirates of the Caribbean. I love Geoffrey Rush! Happy reading.

"_Glory Davis, will you pay attention?_"

Glory's math teacher, Mrs. Black's irritable voice rang out. Glory looked up from exchanging notes with Aida, who sat in the desk next to her.

"Oh, right," Glory muttered, "sorry, Mrs. Black."

"Now that Glory and Aida have been kind enough to act their age," Mrs. Black said, "homework is pages 525 to 600 in the book. You may start on the work now. You have ten minutes until class is over. Begin."

Glory scowled and returned to her note. She had an A in the class, even if she didn't pay attention all the time. And today, she had a throbbing headache and was feeling dizzy. She had ended her summer with what Stephanie and Roger had thought was a bad flu bug. Glory wasn't quite sure if she believed them.

Another wave of dizziness came over her and she put a hand to her spinning head. Aida gave her a concerned look. "You OK?" she asked.

Glory shook her head, but that only made the dizziness worse. "I think I'm… I think I'm gonna go home." She raised her hand and got Mrs. Black's attention. "Mrs. Black, may I call home? I'm not feeling well."

Mrs. Black looked slightly skeptical, but noticing Glory's pale complexion, she nodded. Glory put her things into her backpack and quickly left the room, struggling to calm her heaving stomach.

She had only walked a few feet when her head spun so badly, she couldn't keep her feet. Just as the bell rang, her vision faded, and Aida came rushing to her side, yelling her name, as Glory passed out.

* * *

Glory came to, lying on her back in a hospital bed. She groaned and opened her eyes. Stephanie was curled up in a folding chair, asleep with her head in her hands, looking very uncomfortable, but peaceful. Roger was kneeling on the floor by Glory's bed, his arms eagle-spread on her bed around his head. She moved her legs and he awoke.

"Hey," he whispered, "you're awake. How are you feeling?" He looked at her, eyes full of concern.

"I'm OK," Glory said, "I'm just really tired."

"You really scared us, you know," Roger said, and he stood up. "Ooh, I'm getting too old for this." He went over to Stephanie and shook her away. "Guess whose back with us."

"Glory," Stephanie breathed, and she went over to Glory and took her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"OK," Glory answered shortly.

"Roger, can you go get the doctor and tell him Glory's awake, please?" Stephanie asked, looking around at him.

Roger nodded. "Sure, Baby," he said, and he went out in the hall to the nurses' station to have he doctor paged. A few minutes later, he and the doctor came in. A nurse did a quick exam of Glory's vitals and then the doctor turned to Stephanie and Roger and began to speak.

"I'm Doctor Kayla Rush. Mr. and Mrs. Davis, your daughter has a condition called toxemia," she said. "This form of high blood pressure often occurs in…"

But Doctor Rush's voice trailed off when she saw Glory shaking her head furiously back and forth, her eyes huge. Doctor Rush realized what her expression meant and looked at Stephanie and Roger.

"Mr. and Mrs. Davis, may I... talk to Glory privately for a few minutes? You may come back in the moment I finish, to be with her."

Roger frowned and sent Glory a look, but Stephanie nodded, putting her hand on his arm. "Sure," she said. "Come on, Roger, we can go call everyone and tell them she's OK, while Doctor Rush talks to her."

Roger sighed wearily, looking down at his wife. "Oh, all right," he gave in, and they went down to the waiting room to make calls.

"Glory, I never got to finish telling your parents why you developed toxemia," Doctor Rush said, looking down at her. She pulled a chair up next to Glory's bed and sat in it. "I don't normally quit before finishing giving a diagnosis, ever, but my guess is, you don't want the reason revealed yet." Glory nodded. "Toxemia is common in young expectant mothers. Is it possible that you could be pregnant?"

Glory's hand flew to her mouth in shock. That was an understatement. Slowly, numbly, she nodded. "Please try to understand that I am not angry with you. I am simply going to help you, OK?" Glory nodded again and Doctor Rush looked at the nurse. "Bring an ultrasound machine, please."

The nurse obliged and brought in the machine with another nurse. Glory lay back and Doctor Rush spread gel on her stomach and ran the tool over Glory's stomach. A moment later, Glory heard a heartbeat. She burst into tears and covered her mouth, in an attempt to quiet her sobs.

"Glory, look at me," Doctor Rush said. When Glory didn't, she repeated herself. "Look at me." Glory did this time. "Glory, look at the screen and see what you're having." Glory looked at the screen and her mouth fell open. "You're having a boy, see?"

Glory sobbed even more and Doctor Rush looked at her, understanding the meltdown. "Judging by his size and your pelvic size, you're six months along."

"_Six months_?" Glory exclaimed, and she immediately regretted it. "But wouldn't I be, like, out to here?" She made a rounding motion with her hands, looking very alarmed.

"Not necessarily," Doctor Rush said, shaking her head. "Weight gain varies with every woman. In your case, it's noticeable, but I don't think your parents are concerned, since you're normally at a very good weight, and weight gain for you is not a major concern. However, your relatively small weight gain could have caused your toxemia, but we can't be sure, since you are so young."

Glory nodded. "So I have to get fat to make it go away?" she asked.

"No," Doctor Rush said, "but you do have to go on a no-salt diet, have _no _stress and go on bed rest until you give birth. So no more french fries for you, OK?"

Glory sank back against her pillows, defeated. "All right," she said. "What else?"

"Well, I have a couple questions to ask," Doctor Rush said. "How many sexual partners have you had since you decided to become active?"

"One," Glory said, "my, um, ex-boyfriend, Cole Bennett."

"Should he be informed that you are expecting?"

Glory started to cry again, as flashbacks of her and Cole's first and only shared love, and his sudden, unexpected death came back to her. "Glory?" Doctor Rush asked, looking at her with concern.

"No," she said, wiping her eyes. "Cole's dead. He— he died in a car crash on prom night— a week after we— made love for the— first time— our _only _time. I guess it can— happen the— first time, huh?" She looked up at the doctor.

Doctor Rush nodded. "Right," she said, "just like they tell you in health class. I'm sorry for your loss. Can I do anything?"

"No," Glory said, "but thanks. I'm— I'm getting counseling and stuff. Doctor Rush, what am I gonna do? I was fucking using heroin while I was pregnant with this boy at first, for the first two months or something. Will he be deformed and disabled because of it? I mean, I'm lucky he's not already dead as it is… Will he be HIV-positive? I'm not, but could he be?"

"We'll do blood tests on his first birthday to determine that," Doctor Rush said. "And we can do prenatal testing to see if your addiction affected him at all."

"But I've got to finish school, Doctor Rush," Glory said. "I've got to graduate in May. I can't take care of a baby. But I can't get an abortion, either." She hugged her stomach. "I just can't. Not now that I've heard his heart beat."

"Well, no, you can't," Doctor Rush said. "It's too late for that now, even if you did want it. You're gonna have to go through with it, but I'll be here to help you every step of the way."

"OK," Glory said. "Thank you, Doctor Rush. I appreciate it."

"Of course, Glory," Doctor Rush said. "But I'm leaving the hardest part up to you. How are you going to tell your parents? Judging by that earlier look on your face, they don't know yet."

"No, they don't," Glory said. "I don't know, straight-up, I suppose. We loved each other, you know."

"I can tell," Doctor Rush said. "I'm going to let them back in now, OK?"

"OK," Glory said, after letting out a sigh, and Doctor Rush went out into the hallway and got Stephanie and Roger.

"Mr. and Mrs. Davis, Glory has something else she has to tell you," Doctor Rush said, looking from Glory to her parents.

"What do you have to tell us?" Stephanie asked Glory, looking at her.

Glory thought about how she could break it to them gently, but there wasn't any way. So she came right out with it. "I'm pregnant."

Glory watched their reactions carefully. Stephanie looked extremely surprised, but it was Roger who Glory was worried about. He looked furious.

"How?" Roger asked. "Was it that dealer you ran away with?" Glory shook her head. "Who, then? Glory, you're barely 18—"

"It's Cole's, Dad," Glory sobbed, as she started to cry. "It's Cole's. A week before prom, we went on a date to Tompkin Square Park. We had that picnic where we said we loved each other, and well… you can guess the rest."

Roger shook his head and Stephanie went over to Glory and sat next to her. "Well, what can we do?" Roger asked. "Have her get an abor—?"

"NO!" Glory and Stephanie yelled at him.

"Dad, how can you even say that?" Glory asked, looking up at him. She hugged her stomach, as Stephanie put her arm around her and held her close, glaring at Roger. "That's so heartless of you!"

"Well, what else do we do?" Roger asked angrily. "You can't keep it, Glory Jennifer Davis. You've got school to finish. You've got to graduate, and then you're going to college."

"You never did!" Glory snapped. "You and Mom both didn't and you're OK!"

"Yeah, we really turned out," Roger snarled. "I got into drugs, my girlfriend at the time _killed herself _after we found out we were positive, and then I lost Mimi and Angel, all before…" His voice trailed off, as he looked down at Stephanie. "All before I met your mother and she changed my life." He seemed to soften at the sight of Stephanie.

"Roger, listen to yourself," Stephanie said, standing up. "You're talking like Glory has thrown her whole life away for this child. She hasn't. She can change. What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just doing my job, Stephanie," Roger said. Then he sighed and relaxed. "I've done the best I could by you three kids. Doctor Rush, how far along is she?" he asked the doctor.

"Six months," Doctor Rush answered. "Even if abortion is what all three of you wanted, she's too far along now. Even a partial-birth abortion would be dangerous for her. And I'm sure the last thing you want to do is put her life in danger." The doctor looked at the two parents, praying for understanding. "All she— we— can do now is ride it out. She's due around Christmastime."

Roger nodded without speaking and went out of the room, not looking at the doctor, his wife, or his daughter. Stephanie followed him, but he didn't look back.

"Roger," she said, but he didn't listen, so she raised her voice. "Roger, stop!" she yelled.

This time, he did. Stephanie never yelled at him. "What, Stephanie?" he asked, turning around to face her.

"Roger, look at me," Stephanie said, as she walked up to him and held him. "Glory obviously wants to keep this baby. Since she does, after what Doctor Rush said, I don't think there's any stopping her. It's not like money's a problem, Rog, if that's one thing on your mind, because she's got her inheritance set up, now that she's 18. She can keep the baby and have it, and then we can both care for it with her and pretend it's mine, or she can give it up."

Stephanie looked straight into Roger's Kryptonite-green eyes that still made her heart pound almost twenty years later. Normally soft and gentle, they were now blazing with confusion and anger.

"But the keyword here is 'she.' _She _has to be the one to make that decision. But I think I know what she's gonna do, if I know my daughter at all." She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"How do you do that?" Roger asked curiously, looking down at her.

"How do I do what?" Stephanie asked innocently, looking up at him.

"How do you always get me to see things your way all the time?"

Stephanie laughed. "Oh, I dunno," she said. "I just try. I guess I'm very persuasive. Besides, you know you love me."

"Yeah, I know I do," Roger said, smiling down at her.

"And we were in a similar situation ourselves once, too, remember?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember when I found out I was pregnant with the boys? I wasn't prepared; neither of us was, really. For about the first two minutes after we found out, you wanted me to get an abortion. But we decided not to and we went through with it and dealt with it; and now, look what we have. We have twin boys who are spitting images of their father, despite being slightly evil sometimes." Roger nodded. "So what do you say? Do we go through with it, supporting her the whole way? Or do we do something about it now, and she'll never forgive you for the rest of her life?"

"OK, we go through with it," Roger said, nodding. "And then you have to tell me this secret game plan you've got going on in your pretty little head, OK?"

Stephanie nodded. "OK," she said, and they went back into the room. Doctor Rush was still there.

"So what did you talk about?" Glory asked, looking at them, trying— and failing— to not look worried.

Stephanie went over to Glory and sat down in a chair next to her bed. "Well, Glory, we talked about it, and we decided to let you keep it."

"Him," Glory said, hugging her stomach again. "Please, Mom, he's my son. Doctor Rush told me. Don't call him an 'it.' He's a little person now."

Stephanie nodded. "I see," she said. "Sorry. We've decided to let you keep him."

Glory let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mom," she said, and she looked at Roger. "Thank you, Dad. You don't know how much this means to me."

Stephanie nodded. "We know," she said. "So we can either raise him together and pretend it's mine or something, so your classmates don't know he's yours, and this will save you from social ridicule; or you can give him up for adoption, whether at birth or later. It's your choice."

Roger looked at Stephanie, amazed by her logic. Stephanie gave him a private smile and they looked at Glory, waiting for a decision.

Glory bit her lip. "I'm not sure," she said. "I can't have you guys raising my baby; I couldn't do that to you." She looked up at them. "Yet, I don't want to give him up, either; not now that I know he's Cole's only son." A determined look came over her face. "Can I at least get these last three months over with, and then I can decide?"

"Sure, sweetie," Stephanie said, nodding. "You can wait to make the decision until after he arrives."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Glory said quietly, after a moment of silence. "I know I messed up."

"It's OK, sweetie," Stephanie said. "You loved Cole and he loved you. You just weren't careful, that's all. Now we just have another obstacle to get over in our lives."

Glory nodded and hugged her stomach. She couldn't wait for her little boy to arrive. Yet she knew what was going to happen when he did.

YAY! I UPDATED! OMG! LOL. I'm seriousfuckinly excited about this. You'd better review or I'll do something drastic! LOL. OK, no, I won't, but seriously, review! Reviews are my smack! Thanks! Love you guys lots!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	10. Chapter 10

Still gonna dedicate this story to whoever figures out the ending! Who's gonna get it?? Enjoy this second-to-last chapter!

"Merry Christmas, guys," Glory said, as she opened the front door of the Davis manor, and Mark, Maureen, Joanne, Jennifer, and Aida walked in on Christmas Eve morning. Stephanie came forward and hugged Jennifer, Joanne, and Maureen, and Glory hugged Aida happily.

"Merry Christmas, Glory," they replied.

"How are you doing?" Aida asked, giving Glory a concerned look.

"I'm OK," Glory said, smiling appreciatively as they went into the living room and sat around the Christmas tree. "My knees and back are bugging me sometimes, but other than that, I'm good. I'm ready for this guy to come, though."

"Aren't you, um, due in the next couple of days?" Aida asked, with only a slight hesitation. She was much more comfortable talking about Glory's unexpected pregnancy now than she had been when she'd first found out about it three months ago, after Glory had passed out and had been taken to Bellevue Medical Center. Now the girls were even closer because of the anxious arrival of Cole's baby.

"Yeah," Glory said. "Luckily, the teachers were able to send my homework home with you, eh? You're the only reason I'm not failing."

"So go ahead and say it," Aida said, grinning at her.

"Say what? Oh, OK," Glory said, and she feigned worshipping Aida from _Monty Python_. "You are the best. You are the queen and I'm just a blood peasant unworthy of your presence, who does your bidding."

"Bloody peasant," Aida teased.

Glory grinned. "Well, as long as your 'bidding' doesn't involve me attempting to get off this floor by myself, then I'm fine with your bidding."

Aida laughed and held out her hand, which Glory took and Aida lifted her up to her feet.

"Sweetie, Doctor Rush said you're supposed to stay off your feet," Stephanie said.

"Mom, don't you think my jail cell of a bedroom has been put up with enough?" Glory asked. "Come on, it's Christmas Eve."

"Oh, all right, but you take whatever blame Doctor Rush hands out," Stephanie said. She noticed a pale look on Glory's face. "Honey, I said it's OK. Sit down."

"No, Mom, that's not it," Glory said. She locked eyes with her mother. "My water just broke."

* * *

"Just breathe through the pains, Glory," Aida said soothingly, standing at Glory's right shoulder. "Just breathe, chica."

"I can't," Glory panted, as she lay on the bed, waiting for the contraction to be over. "I want this to be over, Aida. It hurts so fucking badly…"

"I know, sweetie, I know," Aida said, casting Roger and Stephanie a worried look.

"No, you don't know," Glory cried, tears streaming down her face. "You're not in labor! This is too much! I want drugs, Doctor Rush! I want drugs!" She looked at the doctor painfully.

"Glory, honey, you told Doctor Rush you didn't want drugs," Stephanie said gently. "She would have given you an epidural a long time ago, if you'd wanted it then. But it's too late now."

"Why the fuck is everything always too late for me?" Glory demanded furiously, as she was overcome with another contraction. She squeezed Aida's hand tightly and breathed through it. When it was over, Glory sank back against her pillows, breathing hard and sweating. Roger put a hand to his sweating face and walked out of the room, after casting Glory an apologetic look.

"I'll go get him," Mark said, and he went out into the hallway after Roger, glad to have an excuse to get away from the drama of the delivery room. Maureen, Joanne, and Jennifer, on the other hand, were not going to leave their niece to go through the pain alone for one second.

"Roger, are you OK?" Mark asked, following Roger down the hallway.

Roger didn't get very far. He was only just before the next room, when he sank against the wall and started to hyperventilate. Mark put a hand on his shoulder and looked at Roger.

"Rog?" Mark asked.

"I'm sorry, Mark," Roger said, tears in his eyes. "I just can't stand to see my little princess in that much pain. I want to do something about it, but I can't, and I hate that."

"I know it's hard," Mark said, "but let's go back in there and be with her, Rog. She may have cussed you and Steph out already, but you know that's just raging hormones. Go be with her. Coach her along, since Cole can't. She'll thank you after it's over."

"Dad!" Aida yelled, coming out into the hallway. "Would you and Uncle Roger get back in here now, for goodness sake? We've got a baby happening here!"

Roger and Mark looked at each other and nodded and went back into the room. Glory, already tired from her ordeal, was being held up by Stephanie and Aida, and Maureen, Joanne, and Jennifer were also by her side, speaking words of comfort. Glory was crying and sobbing and clinging to Aida and Stephanie for support. Doctor Rush, who was at Glory's feet, looked up at her.

"Glory, you're fully dilated," she said. "It's time to push. Push, Glory."

"I can't," Glory sobbed, shaking her head back and forth.

"Yes, you can," Aida said encouragingly. "You can, you can!"

"Come on, sweetie, push," Stephanie said to her. "You can do it, honey."

"Push, Glory," Doctor Rush repeated. "Ten seconds, come on."

Glory finally did as she was told, as she squeezed Aida and Stephanie's hands so tightly, they were going numb.

"Good. Good, Glory," Doctor Rush said. "The baby's crowning. Give me another _big _push, Glory."

Glory pushed again and she let out a loud cry of pain. Mark, who was standing aside by the door with Roger, noticed him wobble slightly and grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him. It didn't help much. Roger vaguely noticed that Mark was paler than usual, too.

"OK, his head is out," Doctor Rush said. "Don't push for a second, Glory. Breathe through it." Doctor Rush did a breathing exercise and Glory copied her obediently, as Doctor Rush suctioned the baby's mouth and nose. "OK, give me one more big push, Glory. Make it a big one! Big one!"

"I can't," Glory panted. "I want drugs, Doctor Rush! I WANT DRUGS! Oh my fucking God, I WANT COLE!" Her voice cracked and died, as she sobbed some more and surrendered to her tears again.

"He's watching Glory," Aida said, thinking quickly. "He's watching you give birth to his son. So give one last _big_ push for him, come on!"

Aida and Stephanie lifted Glory up, and Glory could almost imagine Cole sitting behind her, rubbing her back and speaking soft words of comfort to her, as she squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, as she pushed with all her might, willing her son to be born. She screamed as Doctor Rush helped the baby out, and then the pain ended. Glory sank back against her pillows, exhausted.

As Doctor Rush lifted the screaming child onto Glory's chest and Aida cut the cord in Cole's place, a small commotion distracted the five women surrounding Glory. Roger had fainted.

Stephanie went over to him, her mouth hanging open in surprise, and kneeled down on the floor next to him. She gently slapped his face and Jennifer brought over a small glass of water and poured it on his face. A few seconds later, Roger came to.

"Are you OK?" Stephanie asked, looking at him, alarmed, but also trying not to laugh.

"Um… yeah, I think so," Roger murmured. "I didn't really…?"

"Yeah, you did," Doctor Rush said, coming over to him. "Did you hit your head on anything on the way down?"

Roger shook his head. "No, Mark kind of… caught me," he admitted sheepishly.

"Then you're OK. No worries, Stephanie." Doctor Rush smirked at Stephanie, her eyes twinkling.

Stephanie laughed and took Roger's face in her hands and kissed him. "Heart of a lion, you've got," she said.

Roger smiled weakly and went over to Glory as the nurses brought the newborn boy over to her, wrapped in a blanket with a blue cap on, and they placed him in her arms.

"21 inches, 7 pounds even, 5:25 P.M., December 25th, 2007," the nurse reported. "He's a perfect ten on the APGAR scale. Congratulations."

Glory smiled wearily at everyone surrounding her. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you all. I wouldn't have gotten through this, if it hadn't been for all of you; especially you, Aida and Mom. Thank you so much."

"You're so welcome, Glory," they said together.

"He's beautiful, Glory," Aida said.

"He is," Glory agreed, and she started to cry again. "Just like his dad was." She looked over at her father. "Dad, are you OK? You scared me."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Roger reassured her. "Don't pay any attention to me. This is your day, princess. And…"

Glory looked up. "Yeah, Dad?"

"Cole would have been proud."

Glory smiled. "I know," she said.

"So what are you gonna name him?" Maureen, Joanne, Jennifer, and Aida asked eagerly.

"Oh," Glory said, feigning uncertainty. "Um, I don't know… I was thinking… you know… Cole."

Glory could have sworn she saw everyone look at each other, as if they'd known all along. "Cole what?" Maureen and Joanne asked.

"I'm not sure," Glory said, surveying the two of them for a long moment. "I definitely want him to be Cole, so he has something to remember his father by. But what should his middle name be?"

"How about Charlie?" Aida asked. "It means 'manly', which, judging by that set of lungs he had earlier, he's got plenty to show us all."

"I like James, actually," Glory said. "I have no idea what it means, but it's got to be something to do with faith and believing in God, right?" She looked at the others, who nodded. "And that's all I feel has gotten me through everything that has happened these past several months is faith. So I think Cole James Bennett will suit him just fine, don't you guys think so, too?" The others nodded. Glory looked down at the little baby boy in her arms. "What do you think, baby boy? Do you want to be Cole James Bennett?"

The newborn hiccupped and burped. Glory laughed. "I think that's approval enough for me," she said, and she kissed his silky blonde hair.

OK, so I could be REALLY MEAN and not update this until tomorrow, in order to give you guys a chance to guess what the ending to this story is gonna be! But I can't! I can't wait until tomorrow to update this again, so the FINAL chapter will be up by the end of tonight! Don't forget to review, as always!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


	11. Chapter 11

Still looking for someone to guess what's gonna happen at the end! It happens in the middle of this final chapter, so guess quickly! LOL. Enjoy this FINAL CHAPTER!

To Rosablasifann08, I promised you I would bring back the family song by the end of the story, so here it is! Read on to find out! Love ya lots!

A few hours later, Glory and baby Cole were resting comfortably. Maureen and Joanne knocked on the door and poked their heads in. "Can we come in?" they asked.

"Sure," Glory said, smiling at them.

"Can we hold him?" Maureen begged.

"Yeah, of course," Glory said, and she handed Joanne the newborn. Maureen leaned over Joanne's shoulder to look at Cole.

"He is darling, Glory," Joanne said, smiling at her. "You are so lucky. _OK_, Honey Bear, you can hold him," she added, grinning, because Maureen was practically on top of her, waiting impatiently.

Glory was silent for several moments, as she thought about what she was going to tell the two women, since she finally had them alone under good circumstances. Joanne noticed the look on her face and looked down at her. "Are you OK?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Glory said. She knew there was only one way to tell them. "Aunt Joanne, I have something I need to tell you and Aunt Maureen."

"What?" Joanne asked curiously. "Should we get the others first?"

"No, that's OK," Glory said, shaking her head, as Maureen walked around, rocking the newborn gently. "I can tell them in a little bit. Aunt Joanne, I'm giving Cole up for adoption."

Maureen stopped walking and Joanne's head whipped around, she appeared to crick her neck; rubbing it, she asked incredulously, "What? You are?"

"Yeah, I am," Glory said, and she started to cry again. "I mean, I know I could support Cole, money-wise, and everything, but I couldn't give him the true love and life he deserves, that two of my favorite aunts in my life could."

Maureen came over to Glory and handed Cole to her, since he was hungry and starting to fuss. Glory had received lessons on how to feed Cole properly a few hours ago, so she started to feed him as she spoke to them. "So I'm giving him up for adoption, but not just to anyone," Glory said, looking up at them. "I want to give Cole to you two."

Maureen and Joanne's hands flew to their mouths, and they both started to cry into each other's arms. "Glory, are you really?" Maureen asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Yes, Aunt Maureen," Glory said. "I really am. This is— the hardest thing— I will ever do— but I know it's— the best thing— I'll ever do for him."

As tears flowed down the three women's cheeks, Stephanie, Roger, Aida, Jennifer, and Mark came back into the room. Stephanie was the first to notice the tears. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "Are you two drama queens crying while fawning over my grandson?" She put her hands on her hips playfully.

"Steph, Glory wants— to give— Cole up— to us— to adopt," Maureen burst out through her tears.

Stephanie's eyes went huge. "What?" she asked, stunned. She looked at Glory. "Glory, you really do?"

"Yeah, Mom, I do," Glory said through her sobs. "It makes perfect sense. I don't know how to take care of a child at this age, and that's all these two have wanted ever since they first laid eyes on each other. Don't you see?" Glory asked, looking up at her parents. "It makes perfect sense. They can give Cole everything I couldn't."

Stephanie nodded, tears running down her cheeks. Roger pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist, as he kissed her hair.

"You're right," Stephanie said, wiping her eyes. "You're absolutely right, Glory."

"This is a really big decision, princess," Roger said, looking down at her. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"I'm positive, Dad," Glory said, nodding, "absolutely positive. Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne deserve him. We'll still get to see him as much as we want, anyway. My decision is final."

Roger nodded and sighed, as he leaned into Stephanie. His princess had grown up on him, and he hadn't even known it.

"Hey," Maureen said, "we really should think up a nickname for little Cole here. I mean, he can't be 'little Cole' forever. And with his daddy being Cole, too, it might get confusing."

"What about CJ?" Joanne asked. "You know, Cole James, only CJ."

Glory smiled. "If you two are all right with that," she said, "I think it's perfect."

Maureen and Joanne looked at each other, and then looked at Glory. "We love it," they said together, hugging each other tightly.

"CJ Bennett, you are gonna be one spoiled little grandson," Glory said to her son, kissing his silky golden hair.

* * *

"Are you ready, sweetie?" Stephanie asked, knocking and coming into Glory's dressing room in the trailer. They were at Madison Square Garden, preparing to go onstage to perform _Love Heals _for the biggest crowd Stephanie had ever seen. Cole was a week old today.

"Yeah, I am, I think," Glory said, looking over at her mother.

"You look beautiful, sweetie," Stephanie said. "Cole would have been proud of you."

"I know," Glory said, smiling at her mother. "I miss him."

Stephanie nodded. "I miss him, too," she said. "He'll be watching you today, though."

Glory nodded. "OK," she said, "let's go. It's time."

Stephanie smiled and followed her daughter out of the room. They met Roger, Mark, Aida, Maureen, Joanne, Jennifer, and the twins backstage, and were announced. Stephanie walked onto the stage and waited for the music to start. When it did, she opened her mouth and started to sing.

"_Like a breath of midnight air, like a lighthouse, like a prayer_…"

"_Like the flicker and the flare, the sky reveals_," Roger sang, as he walked onto the stage and joined her, taking her hand.

"_Like the walk along the shore that you've walked a thousand times before_," they sang together. "_Like the ocean's roar… Love heals._"

Their friends, the company, came out onto the stage after Stephanie and Roger finished the first verse, and then Maureen took the second verse.

"_There are those who freeze their hearts, those who quit before they start_…"

"_Who've frozen up the part of them that feels_," Mark sang, and the company echoed.

"_Don't freeze your heart…_"

"_In the dark, they've lost their sight, like a ship without a star in the night,_" Stephanie and Roger sang together, looking into each other's eyes, as Mark and Jennifer came together, as well as Maureen and Joanne and Caleb and Aida. "_But hold on tight… love heals_."

The song continued, and finally, Glory's solo was about to come up. She looked up above the crowd, imagining Cole watching her, and she sang. "_If your face is salty wet and you're drowning in regret, just…_"

"_Don't forget…_" the company sang quietly, starting to clap. "_Don't forget… Don't forget…_"

"_Oh yeah,_" Maureen sang.

"_Love will lead you home_," the twins sang in perfect unison.

"_Oh, keep you strong, keep it in your heart, Baby_," Maureen sang.

"_I say love_…" Roger sang, and the entire company came together.

"_Love heals, when you feel like you can't go on. Love, love's gonna carry you home. Love heals. When you feel like, when you feel like you can't go on. Hold onto love, and it will lead you home._"

And Glory took the final solo line. "_Love… heals_! Yeah!" With the final note, as the band came to a crashing, glorious end, Glory punched the air with her fist, beaming.

The crowd exploded into applause, as Johnny brought CJ out onto the stage and handed him carefully to Glory. He didn't seem bothered by the noise, and especially since he was close to his mother, he was surprisingly quiet. Glory beamed and set her mike on the stand and took a bow with her family. They had done it at last.

* * *

"Aida," Glory said, coming over to Aida the next day, "can you come with me for a little while? There's something I want to do, and I want you to come with me."

"Sure," Aida said, "what is it?"

"I want to visit Cole's grave again," Glory said, "just one more time. I want to talk to him."

Aida nodded. "OK," she said, "I'll go with you. When do you want to go?"

"Tonight," Glory said, "probably after supper, OK?"

"OK," Aida said, smiling at Glory.

* * *

After supper that night, Glory took CJ and went with Aida to Cole's grave. Sensing Glory wanted a few moments alone with Cole, Aida stepped aside, but Glory took CJ from her. She walked up to the grave and kneeled down next to it, with CJ in her arms, close to her body and wrapped warmly in his little coat and many blankets.

"Cole, it's Glory," she began. "I don't know if you can hear me, but I hope you're listening, because I have a lot to say. I'm with our son, nicknamed CJ. I named him Cole, after you, and James, because I like that name a lot and it fit. It means something along the lines of believing, and that's what you taught me to do. That's all that has gotten me through these past several months, you know? CJ was born on Christmas Day of this year. He's so beautiful, Cole, I wish you could see him. But you can see him, right? And I know you love him, just as much as I do.

"I don't know if I ever told you this, but right after I met you, my mom and my dad and our Bohemian family were supposed to record and perform a new song for my dad's tour. I didn't want to do it, because I wanted to be with you, so we postponed it and didn't do a tour after all, because then I lost you and got all messed up, and then I had CJ and everything changed. But we did get a chance to perform a special concert at Madison Square Garden. It was amazing, Cole. My solo was awesome. I wish you could have seen it. I mean, maybe you did. I don't know. Aida performed with us, too; she says to tell you hi and she misses you."

Glory looked down at his grave, as Aida came over to her. "I guess I just want you to know that I love you and I miss you so much," Glory concluded, as she started to cry. "I'll always tell CJ of you and will show him pictures and film of you, when you were alive, the wonderful man of mine he'll never get to meet. But he's just like you, Cole, in looks and personality. I love him so much, as much as I loved you.

"The night you died, you asked me an important question, and I never answered you." She choked up and covered her mouth for a moment to regain her composure. "You asked me what I saw in my future… our future." Tears spilled over as she gave Cole her answer. "And I answer you now. I saw you, Cole. I saw you. But we can't control our futures and our destinies, can we? That's what my family believes in, living each day as though it was your last, because you never know when that will suddenly come up on you and be gone forever."

Glory let the tears fall for a few moments, and then she got up with help from Aida. Aida put her arm around Glory comfortingly. "I have to go now," Glory said. "It's getting cold with autumn coming to an end, and I should get CJ home. I hope you aren't angry with me for giving him up to Joanne and Maureen to adopt. I feel like they can give him the best life possible, especially since they can never have a child of their own, and I don't know how to raise mine properly. I think it's the best decision I've ever made. I hope you agree."

The two best friends turned away and leaned their heads against each other for moral support, and Glory held CJ closer to her, as they walked away together.

* * *

_5 years later…_

"Say hi to the camera, CJ," Mark said, looking through his camera at the little boy sitting on Maureen's lap.

"Hi," he said, grinning. Five years old, CJ was a spitting image of his father. But he had his mother's beautiful, angelic smile.

"So tell Uncle Marky, CJ," Mark said, focusing the camera on CJ, Maureen, and Joanne, "who are Maureen and Joanne?"

"My bonus mommies who adopted me," CJ answered, looking up at the camera and giggling gleefully as Maureen tickled him.

"That's right, buddy. And who is Glory?" Mark asked, as he panned the camera away to include Glory in the shot.

"She's my birth mommy!" CJ squealed, and he ran over to Glory and hugged her tightly. Glory laughed and kissed her son's silky golden hair.

OK, so who gets the story dedicated to them? Since I haven't seen any new reviews yet, I can't know until I check my Email. It will be put in the summary once I see it! First review alert Email that is correct goes! Thank you to all who have reviewed faithfully for me throughout this story. I appreciate it more than you know. Thank you so much. Love you guys lots from Virginia! See you when I get home, a week from tomorrow!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07


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